I don’t see anything wrong with AOL being picky about which categories it creates home-grown professional content for (e.g., tech news, hyperlocal content) and which ones it outsources. A similar strategy works for TV networks with their mix of studios and owned-and-operated vs. network stations. Sometimes vertical integration works well; sometimes it’s better to spread some risk, esp. in hits-driven entertainment. Henry Blodget disagrees. He claims not to be absolutist about being either a content aggregator or creator, but doesn’t answer why it’s “harder” to mix by channel. (Except in attracting content creation talent.) The tougher question to me is, Is AOL a visible or invisible network? When you’re visible, your content brands should all serve a similar audience. When AOL meant the general-purpose family portal, AOL Sports was for casual fans. With TechCrunch, Engadget, and Sporting News, does AOL want to mean “Guys?”