Dylan Byers of Politico writes Monday about the recently announced Bloomberg Politics site, noting that the two journalists hired to run it will each be paid $1 million.
Byers writes, “By buying Halperin and Heilemann — the best-known names in presidential campaign journalism — Bloomberg is hoping to stake a claim on what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting election cycles in recent memory. The two magazine journalists — formerly of Time and New York, respectively — are extremely well-sourced, pick up major scoops and write deeply reported pieces from the trail. They will also host a daily television show on Bloomberg TV and serve as major draws for sponsored events, which is a signature part of Bloomberg Media CEO Justin B. Smith’s business plan.
“But the success of Bloomberg Politics is by no means a forgone conclusion. Bloomberg has a history of throwing money at talent only to see it languish in relative obscurity. Bloomberg View, the media empire’s opinion arm, wooed an impressive group of influential voices by paying top-dollar for thousand-word columns; many of those voices have since seen their influence diminish. As The New Republic reported late last year, ‘View has largely failed to spark debate among the cultural elite or usurp the clout of The New York Times’ op-ed page.’
“With enough good scoops, Halperin and Heilemann can drive their own traffic. They will also market the site on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe,’ where they will continue to make appearances. Yet in past cycles, the authors have often held their best material for the books: ‘Game Change,’ in 2008, and ‘Double Down,’ in 2012. Moreover, it’s been years since Halperin worked the daily grind and broke news with the frequency he did as author of The Note, the ABC News tip-sheet he wrote in the naughts. Heilemann has always been more of a big-picture guy, parachuting in for the seven-or-eight-thousand-word feature piece.”
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