Businessweek was at odds with the rest of Bloomberg

James Warren writes for Poynter Thursday that the departure of Bloomberg Businessweek editor Ellen Pollock and the decision to revamp the magazine signals its inability to make money and its different strategy from Bloomberg’s core news operation.

Warren writes, “Michael Bloomberg, the founder of the financial news goliath, had spent many millions of dollars to revive Businessweek. He did so amid a disastrous downturn in the print advertising market that’s humbled most magazines.

“After purchasing it, those running the company while Bloomberg was New York City mayor hired Josh Tyrangiel, a journalist and savvy multi-media practioner from Time Inc. Editorially, he revived the magazine (and not because he had me writing columns on policy for a brief period).

“Editorially, it was a ‘hot book,’ in the industry parlance, due to Tryangiel’s imagination, nerve and the impressive journalism talent assembled at Bloomberg upon which he could rely. His work was so self-evidently impressive, it brought him a promotion to chief content officer as he still ran the magazine.

“But the magazine was also tonally at a distinct distance from the rest of the hugely successful Bloomberg empire. It was opinionated and edgy. I can attest, even in writing a weekly column, Tyrangiel was a responsibly provocative editor. Pollock continued in that impressive mold, but it was also one at odds with much of the drier, just-the-facts portfolio of Bloomberg.”

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