The Huffington Post Launches Hawaii Edition Showcasing Authentic Island Culture, People and Places

HONOLULU, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Huffington Post, the Pulitzer Prize-winning source of news, opinion, entertainment, community and digital information, and Honolulu Civil Beat today launched HuffPost Hawaii. The Huffington Post's newest edition offers real-time local news and perspectives, along with national and international coverage, to both local and global audiences. To celebrate its launch, HuffPost Hawaii will host a series of events this week, including an industry talk with local media, receptions on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island, and a panel on "The Third Metric: Redefining Success Beyond Money and Power," an editorial initiative that will feature prominently on HuffPost Hawaii.

"Beyond being a major tourist destination and home to more than one million people, Hawaii occupies a unique place in our collective imagination," said Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group. "In addition to its history, diversity and unique culture, Hawaii's natural beauty and Aloha spirit have made it a world capital of unplugging and recharging. As we focus on The Third Metric and redefining success beyond money and power to include well-being, wisdom and giving back, there is so much that Hawaii can teach the rest of the world. We are delighted to be partnering with Honolulu Civil Beat in order to tell the islands' most important stories—and, just as important, to help the people of Hawaii tell their stories themselves—while at the same time bringing those stories to the rest of America and to our growing international audience."

HuffPost Hawaii features a dynamic blend of high-quality content ranging from slideshows of Hawaii, guides to local attractions and the topics that matter most to Hawaii residents, such as the state's education system and economic development. And of course, HuffPost Hawaii will showcase local bloggers sharing their voices and unique perspectives.

"The Huffington Post has enormous reach into communities around the world and now here at home in Hawaii. The partnership with Civil Beat is full of opportunity as we look to leverage that platform to share Hawaii's unique assets as well as our challenges," said Pierre Omidyar, co-founder, CEO & publisher of Honolulu Civil Beat. "We're eager to see what voices emerge from across the islands, and which stories people feel are important to share with others. I believe this partnership has the power to shape the world's perception of Hawaii and there's an open invitation to every resident to be a part of that."

Those interested in becoming a community blogger for HuffPost Hawaii can email the editorial team at hawaiiblogs@huffingtonpost.com.

HuffPost Hawaii brings together the resources of The Huffington Post and Honolulu Civil Beat, Hawaii's largest news organization dedicated exclusively to civic affairs journalism. Honolulu Civil Beat has hired a new editorial team to manage HuffPost Hawaii's content, editorial direction and daily operations. Honolulu Civil Beat will continue to operate as a standalone local news site, serving as a vibrant platform for civic engagement and a reliable source for public affairs news and investigative reporting.

HuffPost Hawaii's debut follows the May launch of HuffPost Japan, a partnership between The Huffington Post and Asahi Shimbun, Japan's second-largest newspaper. HuffPost Hawaii is uniquely positioned to be a journalistic platform for bridging Asia and the Pacific while sharing Hawaii's aloha spirit with the rest of the world.

Stay connected to HuffPost Hawaii on Facebook (Facebook.com/HuffPostHawaii) and Twitter (@HuffPostHawaii). Launch events for Ke Ka'apuni: A Tour of Hawaii will be tracked via the hashtag #AlohaHuffPost.

About The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is a Pulitzer Prize-winning source of breaking news, features, and entertainment, as well as a highly engaged community for opinion and conversation. The Huffington Post has 47 million monthly U.S. unique visitors and 77 million monthly global unique visitors (comScore, May 2013) posting over eight million comments each month. The site has over 50,000 bloggers—from politicians, students and celebrities to academics, parents and policy experts—who contribute in real-time on the subjects they are most passionate about. The Huffington Post has editions in the UK, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Japan and Maghreb.

About Honolulu Civil Beat
Honolulu Civil Beat is Hawaii's largest news organization dedicated exclusively to civic affairs journalism. Honolulu Civil Beat is where you can learn about, understand, debate and discover the important issues facing our community. Honolulu Civil Beat was launched in May 2010 and has now expanded to include a partnership with The Huffington Post to create HuffPost Hawaii. Honolulu Civil Beat was co-founded by Pierre Omidyar and Randy Ching. Omidyar serves as publisher and CEO of Honolulu Civil Beat, and is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and technologist best known as the founder and chairman of eBay. To learn more about Honolulu Civil Beat, please visit www.civilbeat.com. 

Media Contacts:
Amanda Schumacher
Huffington Post
(917) 510-5077
amanda.schumacher@huffingtonpost.com

Rhoades Alderson
Huffington Post
(212) 402-4653
rhoades.alderson@huffingtonpost.com

Char Chang
Omidyar Group
(808) 372-5028
char@omidyargroup.com

SOURCE Honolulu Civil Beat