HotAir.com Acquired by Salem Communications

Whew. My body clock picked the wrong time go all wonky. 😯

Mediaite has the story:

CPAC hasn’t even officially started and already its making news. Mediaite has learned that leading center-right web site Hot Air has been acquired by Salem Communications for an undisclosed sum. Sources close to the deal claim that Michelle Malkin, the conservative pundit and sole owner of Hot Air, has been in talks with Salem for some time, but the announcement was timed to coincide with the Conservative Political Action Conference, which opens tomorrow in Washington D.C.

Hot Air is one of the biggest, most influential conservative sites on the Web and was launched on April 24, 2006, with Michelle Malkin as founder/CEO (though she remains editorially focused on her own blog MichelleMalkin.com and her own writing and television appearances.) Hot Air is managed on a day-to-day basis by editors Ed Morrissey and the mysterious AllahPundit, who are reported to be part of the deal in the sale of to Salem, and absolutely essential to the core value of Hot Air. We are told that, from a user’s perspective, Hot Air will remain the same despite the change in ownership.

Admittedly, I am a daily reader of HotAir.com, and I have been for a long time. I sort of knew something of this nature was coming. I just did not know what or when. So, this really does not come as any surprise to me at all. My best wishes to Ed and yes, to Allah as well. I hope that it all works out for both of them.

The Blog reactions are mixed, and some are quite funny:

Of Course, Ed’s reaction is “No Comment!”

Joe over at the Moderate Voice, “Someone Bought Congress??!?”

Ben Smith at The Politico: “This is, among other things, a mark of how hard it’s getting to talk about “old” and “new” media, as one buys the other.”

Robert Stacy McCain lets it fly:

“This certainly should be interesting”

“Congratulations to Michelle Malkin on divesting herself of the atheist Eeyore — at a handsome profit, we certainly hope.”

“While I’m always for rent, no one has yet tried to buy me. On the other hand, I’ve had several lucrative offers for Smitty . . .”

I am assuming those offers came from all endowed women. 😉

James Joyner, as always, is bit more civilized than the rest of us crazies:

One presumes that Salem is sincere on this score, in that the Hot Air property will lose most of its value if it becomes something other than what readers expect. And Morrissey’s word on this has additional weight, in that he made the transition from his own solo site (Captain’s Quarters) to the more red meat-oriented Hot Air with no discernible change in his style or editorial choices.

And hearty congrats to Michelle Malkin on what one presumes was a lucrative buy-out. While her politics are harder right than mine and her writing style more polemical, she’s a sweet lady and an incredibly hard worker. She got started blogging more than a year after I did but hit the ground running, instantly figuring out how the game was played and doing it better than just about anyone else. She’s managed to spin off the success of her eponymous blog into the Hot Air project, which became even bigger.

Guy Benson over at NRO writes:

Ed and Allahpundit do excellent work and thrive in the site’s entertaining, accessible and informative format.

What a suck up! I kid I kid!!! 😉

Another Black Conservative:

I wonder if this means that Michelle Malkin will be blogging more often at her site? Hey Michelle, if you need an extra hand now, I know a certain black conservative with some extra time on his hands…

Ace says it’s all about “Crazy Blog Money”:

Salem also owns Townhall.

Good for them!

Little Miss Whatshername ain’t happy about it.

Instapundit: “Is InstaPundit for sale, you ask? A better question: Who would buy it?”

and even more reaction:

Again, my best to Ed and to Allah. This can only be a good thing for those guys. Onward and upward! 😀