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Angela Burt Murray Out as Head of HuffPost’s GlobalBlack

*Former Essence magazine editor Angela Burt-Murray, who was point person for the Huffington Post’s new project targeting African Americans, has left the project, Derek J. Murphy, chief operating officer of the venture, told Journal-isms on Thursday.

“I’m currently managing staff recruiting and site development with our partnership team. Angela Burt Murray is no longer part of these efforts or this partnership,” Murphy told the website via e-mail.

Before the GlobalBlack project, Murphy was Huffington Post’s senior vice president, business development, joining the organization in 2009 from CNN, where he headed strategic partnerships for the CNN Interactive Group, forging alliances with companies that included Google, CareerBuilder and LG Electronics.

Burt-Murray left Essence magazine in November after editing it for five years and surfaced at the Huffington Post project in January. She did not respond to a request for comment and Murphy did not explain Burt-Murray’s departure.

The GlobalBlack concept was developed with Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television. It has its detractors.

Columnist Ruben Navarrette of the Washington Post Writers Group wrote last week:

“Arianna Huffington, the website’s co-founder and editor-in-chief, has described the goal of this enterprise as simply ‘to cover more stories of importance to the black community.’

“There’s the hitch. Shouldn’t this be the goal of every media company in the country? If you want to cover the United States, then you should cover it in all its color and complexity. Otherwise, your product — newspaper, magazine, website, radio or television network, etc. — will soon become outdated and irrelevant.

“Besides, the ‘black community’ is an inseparable part of the American community. . . .”