Salem Communications announced at the Conservative Political Action Conference that it has acquired HotAir.com — the popular right-of-center blog showcasing the news, analysis and commentary of Ed Morrissey and AllahPundit — from Michelle Malkin.
HotAir.com — combined with Townhall.com — creates the largest conservative commentary, analysis, and news network on the Web with more than 3 million unique readers.
Best-selling author, blogger, and syndicated columnist Malkin, who started HotAir.com in 2006, said of the acquisition, “HotAir has experienced phenomenal growth — beyond our wildest expectations. With its established radio platform and fast-growing Internet brands, Salem is perfectly positioned to take HotAir to the next level as a conservative multimedia powerhouse.”
Jonathan Garthwaite, VP & General Manager of Townhall/HotAir, commenting on the acquisition said, “I have always respected Michelle Malkin and the insights and opinions presented by HotAir. I look forward to working with Ed Morrissey and AllahPundit during a critical period in determining our country’s future. The combination of the #1 conservative opinion and news site and the #1 conservative news and commentary blog creates a real force for conservative values in 2010 and beyond,” he added.
Townhall/HotAir is a part of Salem Communications’ Internet division, Salem Web Network (SWN). Said Tom Perrault, SVP of SWN: “The addition of HotAir doubles the size of Salem’s expanding footprint in online conservative commentary. It’s a perfect fit for us, since we can leverage talk radio, print and other online assets to aggressively grow the site, while offering political organizations and advertisers an even more effective way to reach and engage the conservative audience.”
