When the narrowest of gaps opened in the media business, Arianna Huffington jumped into it headfirst

and jacked it wide open. In 2005, with little more than her impregnable charm, thicket of friends and

contacts and outsize chutzpah, she launched the golden goose of news websites (or of any business) —

popular, adroit, cheap as chips to run and named after her.

The Huffington Post is now one of the 50 most frequented Web destinations, holding its own against

much bigger and longer-established media megaliths. In February it attracted more than 23 million

unique visitors. That month AOL bought it for $315 million, making Arianna, 60, not just well connected

but also admired, albeit grudgingly, by the business community.

The acquisition may have been just in the nick of time. Some of the news organizations that the site links

to have suggested she's hosting a party using their best china. And one of HuffPo's contributors has filed

a class action against the website and AOL, claiming some proceeds of the sale. Still, one sure sign of

influence is that somebody wants to bring you down.