Huffington Post Chicago: the Linky City

The first of Arianna Huffington's local news hubs, Huffington Post Chicago, is up, and from the looks of it the Windy City is an inspired launching pad for the announced local site model. For starters, Chicagoans have John Cusack, who wrote the first blog post on the site's Chicago slate. The Greek food (at least according to Huffington herself ) is divine. And there's a certain Midwestern modesty that makes boasts about Chicago never seem grating. (Getting all excited over a lake, for example... presh!) When L.A. or New York loves itself, outsiders call it "arrogance" or "narcissism." But in Chicago, it's just hometown pride.

With this site, the HuffPost is building on their own improvement to the Drudgian aggregation model they've applied with great success to the political realm -- where linking trumps reporting.  Huff Chicago reportedly employs only one paid staffer, who will no doubt toil on the reader's behalf to find the best that other Chicago web sites have to offer. As of today, breaking news headlines link overwhelmingly to stories from the Tribune and Sun-Times, even adopting the old-fashioned headline style that made print media famous (Cop Shot Wednesday Dies, for instance, and No Convention Spot for Blago--referring to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an Obama ally).   

The site is another sign that we're being weaned off newspapers as we know them, with their expensive staffs and their writerly approach to the world. For the service/lifestyle stuff, the HuffPost Chicago front page offers Chicago's Cheapest Gas, which is a simple link to the database on Chicagogasprices.com. Seriously, why pay a reporter to whip up a few amusing paragraphs about gas prices, when you can just write a headline, link and vroom -- your readers have everything they need? Same goes for the headline that advises you to "Slow Down and Eat Well at the Slow Food Chicago's Heirloom Tomato Fest." It's not offering you a food writer's metaphor-filled trip through the history and lore of tomatoes and the Slow Food movement. One juicy link is enough for the reader to decide if she wants to go, or not.

Though the Chicago Tribune is the beneficiary of plenty of HuffPo's link love, it's still not sure whether to be proud or worried about the new arrival.  Writes columnist Phil Rosenthal:  "It's not clear whether this local Post fills a void or creates its own real estate in the media landscape, which is in retreat and recession on several fronts of late." 

Make that several, plus one.

-- Maria Russo