Editor-in-chief Lydia Polgreen said the outlet hoped the move would allow it to take more "ownership" of what is published under the HuffPost banner. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO HuffPost shutters unpaid contributor platform

HuffPost announced Thursday it is ending its long-standing network of unpaid contributors and introducing two new sections, opinion and personal, as the outlet continues to refine its editorial scope under editor-in-chief Lydia Polgreen.

Under the newly unveiled verticals HuffPost will take a more traditional approach to the publication of opinion pieces and personal essays, commissioning a spate of regular columnists and soliciting work from one-time contributors under the purview of full-time editors.


The move signals the end for one of the most popular and well-known features of the website, its contributor platform, which allowed readers to publish and share their own content on the outlet formerly known as The Huffington Post.

Polgreen, the 15-year New York Times veteran who took over the reins at the site from founder Arianna Huffington in 2016, said the outlet hoped the move would allow it to take more "ownership" of what is published under the HuffPost banner.

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"This wasn’t an easy decision, because blog contributors have been part of the heart and soul of HuffPost from its beginning. So many great stories were told," Polgreen tweeted after announcing the news. "But in our current climate, we as a newsroom need to take ownership of what we publish."

The contributors platform, despite its popularity, faced criticism over the years for relying on the work of unpaid writers for content and for allowing amateur journalists to publish content unfiltered onto the Web.

The editorial decision marks the continuation of a remodel under Polgreen, who has sought to bolster HuffPost's investigative and entrepreneurial coverage while moderating its progressive approach to news.

Polgreen added that the site "will be adding lots more staff over the course of 2018" as it looks to expand its editorial operations. HuffPost announced last June it was laying off over three-dozen employees amid a series of corporate cutbacks.