HuffPo launches investigative unit with $1.75 mil

The Huffington Post has unveiled details of its expansion into investigative journalism. With an initial budget of $1.75 million, the Huffington Post Investigative Fund will hire 10 staff journalists who will coordinate stories with freelancers. Work produced by the investigative team will be available for any publication or website to use at the same time it is posted on the Huffington Post, said Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief. The Atlantic Philanthropies and other unnamed donors backed the venture. In its report on the HuffPo’s new unit, Poynter’s E-media Tidbits points to other nonprofit and philantrophic efforts to produce investigative reporting, including OhmyNews.com. The Korean international news site, which launched in 2000, is the model for HuffPo’s set-up combining efforts of professional and citizen journos.