BusinessWeek editor Adler to leave after Bloomberg deal closes

BusinessWeek editor Stephen Adler told the magazine’s staff Tuesday that he will step down from the top spot once the magazine’s sale to Bloomberg LP is completed in December.

The magazine’s Tom Lowry has posted Adler’s memo on a blog.

Lowry writes, “Adler’s resignation eliminates any question as to whether he would continue on under Bloomberg’s ownership and gives Bloomberg’s chief content officer, Norman Pearlstine, the opportunity to hand pick his own candidate for BusinessWeek’s top editorial job. Adler and Pearlstine, who will become chairman of BusinessWeek, were once colleagues at The Wall Street Journal. It is rare that the top editor of a magazine that is acquired stays on in that role.

“‘It was hugely important to me to help find the right owner for BusinessWeek and to work closely with our business-side colleagues to ensure that staffers would be provided appropriate benefits under any circumstances,’ Adler wrote in his staff memo. ‘Now that these goals have been accomplished, I’m considering other opportunities, and I believe it makes sense for a new owner to move forward with a new editor.’

“When Adler, 54, was recruited to BusinessWeek in late 2004, he was largely seen as a talented and ambitious editor itching to lead his own news organization. For years, Adler, a deputy managing editor at The Journal, was considered to be among the top candidates to become the newspaper’s managing editor. By coming to BusinessWeek, Adler had big shoes to fill, following Stephen Shepard who presided over BusinessWeek as its editor-in-chief for more than 20 years.

“But Adler continued to emphasize the journalistic mission of the magazine and BusinessWeek racked up more than 100 journalism awards during his tenure. In the past three years alone, BusinessWeek won 38 major awards, compared to seven at Fortune, one at Forbes and zero at the Economist. More recently, BusinessWeek won the General Excellence SABEW award (Society of American Business Editors and Writers) and its web site won for best in business.”

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