New CEO wants to return TheStreet to its former glory, make deals

The new chief executive officer of financial news service TheStreet.com said Thursday he wants to return the company to its former glory, and he’s interested in seeking deals to consolidate the online business news market.

David Callaway, who had been the editor in chief of USA Today for the past four years and was the editor of MarketWatch.com, was named the new CEO of TheStreet on Thursday morning. Callaway had a long career in business journalism before working at USA Today.

The New York-based financial news company has struggled in recent years. Its first-quarter earnings were lower than expected, and it’s got dissident shareholders upset with its performance. The company recently released a redesigned website for its namesake product.

The company has also had layoffs, and an almost complete overhaul of its top executives, in the past year.

In a telephone interview with Talking Biz News Thursday evening, Callaway said, “I think there are some deals to be done in the business digital media world that were never done, and there are some ways to leverage some content in ways that haven’t been done. This is a way for me to go to a recognized brand leader and find ways to get it to the top.”

When asked about potential deals that TheStreet might pursue, Callaway declined to discuss specifics.

“There’s a lot of business digital media companies that have been around for a while, not just in the U.S. but internationally,” said Callaway. “But the consolidation hasn’t been realized in that space. I think there’s some great opportunity.”

He will start his new job in early July. The move reunites Callaway with Larry Kramer, who has been acting as TheStreet’s interim CEO and is its chairman of the board.

Kramer founded MarketWatch.com, and he later was the publisher of USA Today who hired Callaway to be its editor.

Callaway was MarketWatch’s editor from 2003 to 2012. He was executive editor and managing editor starting in 1999. Callaway managed the day-to-day coverage for a world-wide news gathering operation with 11 bureaus across the globe.

Before that, he was a securities industry reporter at Bloomberg where he led a team of financial reporters throughout Europe covering the banking, investment banking and asset management business. He also was a business columnist with the Boston Herald.

Callaway said he was attracted to TheStreet because of the opportunity to run a company.

“First of all, it’s the chance to move to another level from editor in chief to CEO, to actually be able to achieve and plan and grow a media company of great renown with a great brand name,” said Callaway. “And I’m from New York city, so I love the idea of moving back to New York.”

He also lauded the history of the 20-year-old company and that it has products other than financial news.

“TheStreet used to be the big gorilla in the financial online media space,” he said. “They have gone through a succession of business models and had issues. But there’s still a great business with great content.

“TheStreet is just part of the business,” he added. “I want to look at all of that content and find a way to leverage it to increase the reach and profile and buzz to get it back to the way it was in the good old days, and more.”

Callaway said he was also attracted by a return to business journalism.

“I love business journalism,” said Callaway. “I have to say, the reason I took the USA Today job was to get out and do other journalism. But the business journalism dynamic is special, and you have to be in it to understand it. To be able to be part of that again in New York and make a difference, I think tipped the scales.”