Reuters blogger Salmon to take on web-based role at Fusion

Prominent Reuters financial blogger Felix Salmon will join the cable network Fusion on Monday in a web-based role that runs across multiple media, reports Ravi Somaiya of the New York Times.

Salmon writes, “‘The reason why I am going to Fusion,’ he said in an interview Wednesday, ‘is that they have the ability to help me communicate in the ways that people are going to consume information in the future. Which is not 1,500-word blocks of text.’

“Though his title will be senior editor, Mr. Salmon plans to use the strengths of the network, which is owned by ABC and Univision, and is aimed at a younger audience, to produce ‘animations, videos, data visualization stuff, ways of using other platforms to convey information and tell stories.’

“Fusion, which gets the bulk of its revenue from cable fees, is not focused on building an audience for its website ‘that it can then sell to advertisers,’ he said. Freed from the constraints of having to attract people directly to a website, he said, ‘you can have a lot of fun.’

“The network, said Daniel Eilemberg, its chief digital officer, aims to be a ‘multiplatform, digital-first cable network, which is trying to reach an audience that is digital-native.'”

Read more here.