CNNMoney changes to CNNBusiness, will focus more on tech

CNN is taking the wraps off its new business site, CNN Business, to reflect an increased emphasis on Silicon Valley, reports Lucia Moses of Digiday.

Moses writes, “CNN is ditching the CNNMoney brand, which was part of a joint venture with then-Time Inc.’s Money and Fortune magazines going back to 2001.

“‘The driving force behind this change is, we felt the CNNMoney brand wasn’t quite up to telling the generational story of business news at this moment,’ said Jason Farkas, who’s running the new site as vp and gm of CNN Business. ‘If you work at an auto or retail or financial services firm, at the core, all of those are technology companies. Money magazine is really tips and tricks for people trying to balance their financial life. We didn’t think it could stretch far enough.’

“CNN staffed up with 200 new digital hires in the past couple of years but then laid off a few dozen this year. Casualties including the Snapchat and VR teams and the CNN MoneyStream app that delivered personalized business news. (The app still exists but is just an automated feed.) To fuel the new site, CNN Business is hiring six to eight people to staff a new San Francisco bureau, its biggest outside of New York City, for a total of about 70 editorial staffers, including 30 covering media and tech.”

Read more here.