Quartz plans to break some molds

Lucia Moses of Adweek looks at Quartz, the new business news site coming from The Atlantic.

Moses writes, “With the launch, Atlantic Media is opening up a second front in its battle with the Economist Group.

“The two brands already compete head-to-head in the white-hot Washington, D.C., market, where both have ramped up their government news and data products for Beltway elites.

“With Quartz, Atlantic Media believes there’s an opening for a ‘digital-first’ brand for the business set. It’ll have a website, but Quartz is seen as being primarily a mobile and tablet product, for the globe-trotting executive. Justin Smith, Atlantic Media president and a former Economist Group exec, said he’s targeting advertisers ranging from financial, energy and technology to luxury goods and automotive.

‘Under Kevin Delaney, the Wall Street Journal vet who was tapped as editor in chief, Quartz’s editorial approach also is taking shape, and like the business model, it also plans to break some molds. Delaney said rather than adopt a traditional beat structure, he’s going to organize coverage around certain big issues, like, say, the Chinese consumer, deemed to be of high interest to business readers.”

Read more here.