Kenny Yum, who has worked in editorial roles at some of Canada’s best-known online news sites, has been named managing editor of all AOL Canada Channels, including Huffington Post Canada set to launch this spring.
U.S.-based AOL recently acquired the Huffington Post for $315 million. While Yum wouldn’t give specifics on Huffington’s Canadian content offerings, he said it will be a continuation of its American brand that will be adjusted to “the peculiarities of what makes a Canadian reader different than a U.S. reader… We’d like some Canadian flavour, of course, as we adapt to this market.”
In the same way that the Huffington Post is a competitor to The New York Times, CNN and big-name online portals in the U.S., Yum said Huffington Post Canada will play a similar role here.
He’s especially excited to be entering the Canadian market using the Huffington Post model since he says there are lots of growth opportunities for international coverage.
In terms of authority in digital journalism, he sees the content that AOL and the Huffington Post Canada will bring as “a leap in terms of potential for what a news outlet can be for Canadians.”
Yum helped launched GlobeAndMail.com and worked there from 2000 to 2006. He then moved to NationalPost.com for nearly three years, where his last title was managing editor, digital. Yum then returned to the Globe, where he has most recently acted as editor of GlobeAndMail.com.
Yum will start his post at AOL Canada near the end of May.
AOL is also planning a Huffington Post expansion in the U.K.
