Globe and Mail beefs up business to thwart Bloomberg, WSJ

Ken Doctor writes for Capital New York about how the Toronto Globe and Mail has added staff to its business news desk and redesigned the section.

Doctor writes, “The data revelation about readers of financial stories recently prompted a doubling-down of editorial staffing in business. The Globe added 34 people to its business news reporting staff. Most transferred from other departments, though a number of new hires were included.

“That’s both an offensive – and defensive – move. The Wall Street Journal reopened a presence in Canada two years ago, but it’s Bloomberg that is making the bigger push. Crawley cites an increase of 30 Bloomberg business staffers recently and the company’s plans to launch a business TV report in the fall. While he sees that initiative as mainly intended to bolster Bloomberg’s core terminal business, the competition for the Canadian business reporter has clearly intensified.

“‘Sixteen years ago, our main competition was the National Post,’ he says. Now, as that competition has faded, the challenge becomes more global.

“In many ways, the Globe’s business journey parallels that of U.S. and European publishers. Along that dimension, it displays the universality of contemporary news publishing challenges.”

Read more here.