Bloomberg Business to replace Businessweek.com

Dean Starkman of the Columbia Journalism Review writes Thursday that one of the changes being planned at Bloomberg’s media operations is to rename the Bloomberg Businessweek website to just Bloomberg Business.

Starkman writes, “The strategy was not widely shared internally, though some elements have leaked. According to people with knowledge of the strategy, it has three main elements: 1. Fix the sprawling and money-losing television operation; 2. Ramp up Bloomberg’s conferencing business; 3. The centerpiece, separating Bloomberg content into five editorial ‘verticals’ across a range of digital platforms (Web, mobile, etc.): a general business site, Bloomberg Business, that will replace Businessweek.com; technology; a luxury site drawing on the company’s Pursuits magazine; and Bloomberg Markets, which would draw on mostly financial coverage produced by the vast Bloomberg News operation. Last, a Bloomberg Politics site has already been announced, to much fanfare, featuring the high-profile Washington journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, authors of Game Change. Halperin and Heilemann are expected to anchor a daily politics show after the close of markets.

“The first setback surfaced when designer Richard Turley, the creative force behind buzz-creating covers at Bloomberg Businessweek, abruptly decamped last April to take a job at MTV. His departure was accompanied by a torrent of regret and praise from the media press, which ran greatest-hits tributes to his most ‘awesome’ covers. Turley didn’t respond to telephone calls seeking comment.

“Then the launch of the business vertical, Bloomberg Business, which had initially been targeted for September, was pushed back to the end of the year.”