AOL, the Huffington Post and News in Southern California

Internet-access pioneer AOL has been losing customers. Last year, it posed a net loss of almost $800 million. Now, AOL has purchased the Huffington Post.  In just five years, the Post has become one of the top ten news sites on the web, with 20 million unique monthly visitors and profits of $30 million last year. The price was $300 million in cash and $15 million in AOL stock. But Arianna Huffington won't go away. She will be president and editor-in-chief of a new group inside AOL, overseeing some 700 editorial employees. The age of the Internet has been cruel to traditional newspapers, and it's caught up with the LA Times, the Orange County Register and suburban dailies including the Daily News.  A group of hedge funds now owns most of their assets and the word in the business is "consolidation."