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AOL Announces Launch of AOL Defense

Dépèche transmise le 16 juin 2011 par Business Wire

AOL Announces Launch of AOL Defense

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) today announces the launch of AOL Defense, a source for industry news, video, community and expert analysis of the highly complex issues facing the defense industry. Colin Clark, an award-winning journalist with expertise in defense, intelligence and aerospace, is Editor. AOL Defense goes live in time to cover the largest air show in the world, the 47^th International Paris Air Show, Le Bourget, which begins on June 20. AOL Defense will feature news, interviews and video from the event. Jay Kirsch, VP and General Manager of AOL Industry, made the announcement.

“We’re thrilled to launch AOL Defense as our second AOL Industry offering”

“We’re thrilled to launch AOL Defense as our second AOL Industry offering,” said Kirsch. “We believe there’s a market for news and opinion that serve sophisticated targeted audiences around subjects that are complex and fast moving, like the immense global defense industry. We’re giving our influential readers -- many of whom are decision makers in the field -- information they can act upon. AOL Defense is a niche forum for experienced journalists, knowledgeable analysts, industry insiders and informed readers to connect and communicate with one another about the fascinating defense stories that are happening right now.”

AOL Defense offers original reporting, aggregation, data, opinion and video. The refined content mix is specifically targeted towards influencers in the sector. The site allows users to see their personal connections to the news and newsmakers of the day, providing a robust integration of social networking tools, which is unusual in the trade media space today.

AOL Defense is part of AOL Industry, which offers subject-specific news and analysis, tools and video to foster singular communities that enable professionals, experts and government employees to engage each other on the topics of energy, government and defense. AOL Industry launched last month with the first of its three sites: AOL Energy.

Clark was founding editor of DoDBuzz.com. Previously, he covered Congress, intelligence and regulatory affairs for Space News; founded and edited the Washington Aerospace Briefing, a newsletter for space industry professionals; covered national security issues for Congressional Quarterly; and was Editor of Defense News. Clark is based in Washington, D.C.

"The defense sector is a highly complex web of companies, the Congress, government consultants and think tanks. We want to inform and drive the defense debate, combining original reporting and analysis with the insights of our readers. There is a strong need for a resource such as AOL Defense that brings all those moving parts together in a modern environment that is both informative and interactive,” said Clark. "AOL Defense will be a critical resource not only to industry insiders, but also to the average national security reader."

Early contributors, who are also members of the site’s Board of Contributors, have written several in-depth pieces for launch day:

• In What New Defense Secretary Panetta Must Do, Doug Macgregor, one of America's top military thinkers, opines that incoming Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, driven by the fiscal crisis and political pressure, is likely to bring troops home and build lighter, more flexible American forces. Macgregor believes Panetta may well shut down some foreign bases and change the kinds of weapons the country buys.
• David Axe, veteran war correspondent and author of “War Is Boring,” looks at what’s next for the Marines. Their future, says Axe, hotly debated ever since Defense Secretary Robert Gates referred to them as our "second land army," may lie more in the air than on the sea.
• Joan Johnson-Freese, lecturer at Harvard and respected expert on space and the Chinese military, writes about why military education must change. She contends that the military schools' leaders are too politically conservative to allow vigorous debate and creating students that are too unquestioning.
• Loren Thompson, defense analyst, consultant and COO at the Lexington Institute, asks a question almost no one in the defense industry wants to talk about publicly: How the Defense Industry Will Deal with the Coming Downturn. His answer: They don't want to, but they'll probably have to branch out beyond their traditional tight focus on weapons and diversify.

In addition to those mentioned above, AOL Defense’s Board of Contributors includes: retired U.S. Air Force General David Deptula, now a consultant; Mackenzie Eaglen, former congressional staffer and defense analyst at the Heritage Foundation; Robbin Laird, international defense consultant; Bob Butterworth, former advisor to the head of Air Force Space Command; and Winslow Wheeler, analyst at the Center for Defense Information.

Early contributors from the defense industry include: Jim Maser, VP, Space, at Pratt & Whitney, and Al DeLibero, President of the GE Rolls Royce Engine Team. Among the seasoned reporters who will contribute to AOL Defense are: former congressional editor at Aviation Week John M. Doyle; veteran defense correspondent Otto Kreisher; reporter and author Rick Whittle; and editor of the Learning from Veterans website and former National Journal defense reporter Sydney J. Freeberg, Jr.

AOL Government will be launching soon.

About AOL

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a premier global media company with a suite of brands and products serving consumers, advertisers and publishers worldwide. The AOL Huffington Post Media Group is a leading source of news, opinion, entertainment, community and digital information comprised of a wide range of destination websites, including AOL.com, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Moviefone, Engadget, Patch, AOL Music, StyleList and MapQuest. The AOL Advertising.com Group includes Advertising.com, ADTECH, Pictela, Video, inclusive of AOL Video, goviral and 5min Media, Content Solutions and Sponsored Listings and serves a combined content and advertising market at scale through video, brand advertising, content and ad serving. AOL is focused on engaging consumers and providing online advertising services and solutions on both AOL Huffington Post Media Group destination websites and third party websites, in addition to serving consumer platforms including AOL Mail, AIM, about.me, and mobile experiences. AOL also operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as another distribution channel for its consumer offerings.