Launched in May 2005, the HuffPost has become an influential media web site covering politics, business, technology, entertainment, and the green movement. It is also a platform for thousands of bloggers who weigh in on a wide range of topics.

Huffington, who writes a nationally syndicated political column for Tribune Media Services, is a frequent television commentator, with appearances on such shows as “Charlie Rose,” “Larry King Live,” and “The O’Reilly Factor.” She is the author of 12 books, including Right is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe.

In 2009, Forbes magazine named her to its list of Most Influential Women in Media. She has also appeared on the Time 100, Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

“Arianna is very entrepreneurial, a valuable skill in this brave new world of journalism,” said Dean Stephen B. Shepard.

Huffington will be the CUNY J-School’s third commencement speaker, following award-winning broadcast journalist Bill Moyers in 2008 and Dean Baquet, assistant managing editor and Washington bureau chief of The New York Times, in 2007.

The 2009 commencement will take place at the Times Center in the New York Times building. A reception will follow at the CUNY J-School next door.

Date: Friday, Nov. 13

Time: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Place: Room 308/ Cafe / Lobby Area

For more information, contact Career Services Director William Chang, 646-758-7732 or william.chang@journalism.cuny.edu.

There are two topics on the agenda. We will be considering a proposal from the Curriculum Committee to add a course entitled “Sports and Society” as an elective. And we will be discussing the addition of a course on political reporting that is being prepared by Associate Professor Peter Beinart.

Students and faculty members who are not on the Executive Committee are welcome to attend the meeting as observers.

The day comes in two parts.

* We will start with a presentation and discussion of the New Business Models for News Project. We will show detailed models for sustainable businesses in in local news from four perspectives: bloggers and hyperlocal sites; a new news organization; the framework that enables ad networks to form; and not-for-profit’s contribution. Our bottom line: We built on our finding that some local bloggers are bringing in up to $200,000 a year revenue and looked at how to optimize their businesses and how news organizations will work together to become profitable again. The analysts who made these models will be there to answer questions.

* We will then have a series of useful workshops, presentations, and discussions aimed at optimizing these local news businesses. Topics include how to set up and monetize sites, how and what to sell to local advertisers, how to get the most out of Google’s tools and ads, marketing sites, working in partnerships with publishers, and presentations from companies that are working to help local sites.

We’ll end the day looking at unmet needs and opportunities to assure the success of local news.

We are inviting a cross-section of the people who are building the future of local news: hyperlocal bloggers and local site owners from the region, entrepreneurs, investors, publishers, editors, technologists, companies that are serving local news sites, and funders. We’ll share experience, best practices, needs, and ideas and come out working together in new ways.

We urge you to look at the work of the New Business Models for News Project and join the discussion there. Please also look at the models, which you can copy and modify.

We’re grateful to the Knight Foundation for funding our work on these new business models, which we presented in August at the Aspen Institute, and to the McCormick Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation for their support of this important work to sustain journalism.

Space is limited for this conference. For information, contact David Cohn (david@spot.us).

The J-School’s Annual Blood Drive will take place on Thursday, Oct. 29 from 10 a.m – 3:30 p.m. in Room 308.

The event will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 20 from 6-8 p.m. in Room 308 of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

Mirebrahimi, who lives in New York, faces stiff penalties in Iran as a result of his reporting. He was instrumental in getting the citizens’ journalism and social networking to the rest of the world after the June election. He maintains strong contacts inside Iran and will give us the latest on the democracy movement there.

Burnett will show some of his photographs and discuss his work in Iran. His book includes pictures of the end of the Shah’s regime, the return of Khomeini, and the swing of power to the Mullahs. The photographs are a historical narrative and are accompanied by Burnett’s personal notes and recollections.

The event is open to students, faculty, and friends of the CUNY J-School. Please RSVP to lonnie.isabel@journalism.cuny.edu.

The purpose of this event is to bring undergraduate journalists together so they can trade war stories and complaints, figure out what they can do to help each other, learn a little, and meet faculty and students from the J-School.

The day will start with lunch at noon, followed by two short sessions – one on ethical and legal issues student editors should be aware of, and the second on branding yourself and your publication using online tools and techniques. After that, the group will sit around a table and talk about common problems and maybe work out some joint solutions. Topics could include the need for a stylebook, attracting and training new staff, and setting up joint advertising programs.

For more information, contact Ruth Hochberger, editor-in-residence at the CUNY J-School. Her email address is ruth.hochberger@journalism.cuny.edu.

DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 7
TIME: 6-8 p.m.
PLACE: Room 308

Contact: Will Chang, director of career services, 646-758-7732