Seed’s Goal Is To “Redefine Journalism For The Internet Age,” Its Reality Is Untangling Cat Hair

Last December, Saul Hansell left his job as a veteran reporter and blogger at the New York Times to become the programming director for Aol's Seed , which is the new online assignment desk for Aol's 80 different Websites. In his first blog post since he took on the new job, Hansell admits that his new career path was met by "a lot of blank stares" from friends and family. Seed is still a bit of a mystery to many, but its essentially a way for Aol to assign articles to anyone on the Web beyond the 3,500 journalists and professional freelancers it employs directly. Why is this important? As Hansell explains: AOL is a very different company now. It is independent again. And its mission is to redefine journalism for the Internet age. Seed is supposed to help by assigning the stories that "satisfy the world's curiosity" (the Seed Creed). Hansell does his best to make writing articles for Aol at $30 to $300 a pop sound enticing: