How to Save Journalism with HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton

Pitchin' and Sippin' with Lexie Smith

Danielle Belton is the current editor-in-chief of HuffPost where she led the Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom to profitability in 2021, after her first year in leadership. In her three-year tenure, she has improved overall newsroom diversity and relaunched HuffPost's legacy Voices brands, including adding a new vertical, Indigenous Voices — one of the first mainstream, digital media offerings for Indigenous people.

Prior to joining HuffPost, she was editor-in-chief of the leading Black digital publication, The Root. Belton grew the award-winning site's traffic by 300 percent within her first year leading its newsroom. A 20-year-veteran of journalism, blogging, and writing, Belton is also known for being one of the first black women to lead a writer's room in late night when she was head writer for BET's talk show, "Don't Sleep" in 2012. She was also the creator and author of the popular, former politics and pop culture weblog, The Black Snob.

In this episode, Lexie and Danielle Belton discuss all things journalism and the ever-changing media landscape. She breaks down what she believes is impacting the journalism landscape, both positively and negatively, and what needs to happen to save the media industry at large. Lexie wraps up the episode by asking Danielle about her personal pitching preferences.

Here’s What You’ll Learn:

• Danielle Belton’s career cliff notes
• How Daniella got into journalism
• Her journey to becoming editor-in-chief of HuffPost
• What her average day looks like in her role as editor-in-chief at the HuffPost
• The pros and cons of advertising revenue when it comes to media and journalism
• Her thoughts on the role journalism leadership plays in the overall state of the industry
• What she sees that is negatively impacting the industry
• How she believes we can save the Journalism industry
• Her personal pitching preferences
• And more!

Listener Links:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/daniellecbelton?lang=en
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beltondanielle/?hl=en
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@beltondanielle?hl=en
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellebelton/
• Substack Profile: https://daniellebelton.substack.com/
• Huff Post Profile: https://www.huffpost.com/author/danielle-belton

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