AOL has announced it will hire “hundreds” of journalists, editors and
videographers over the next year as part of a new “content-first”
business strategy, AdAge reports.

David Eun, president of AOL’s media and studios division, is expected to announce the content push today in New York.

In an interview with AdAge, Eun said:

“Our mission at this company is to be the world’s largest producer of high-quality content, period,” he said. “The content driving our traffic is home-grown, and 80% of it is now produced by folks on the AOL payroll.”

AdAge continues:

“AOL employs about 500 full-time editorial employees. And while Mr. Eun said the marketplace will determine the pace of new hires, it is conceivable that number could double in the coming year. “We are going to be the largest net hirer of journalists in the world next year,” he said.”

“Like AOL, Yahoo has concluded that its original content performs and monetizes better and it’s now in a push to create more of it. In an interview earlier this week, Yahoo Exec VP Hilary Schneider said Yahoo’s goal is to boost home-grown content to 20% worldwide.”