In a blog post, Smith, who came on board last year as CEO of Bloomberg Media Group, said his unit needs to maximize "a series of unique corporate advantages," including a business model that doesn't rely on advertising. "Bloomberg Media's greatest potential has yet to still be realized," he wrote. "As our traditional competitors buckle under their own legacy weight, we are unencumbered."
While it employs more than 2,400 journalists, nearly all of its revenue -- about $8.3 billion in 2013 -- comes from selling data-rich desktop terminals to time-sensitive finance professionals. "Seizing this opportunity will require long-term investment and a large appetite for transformation, risk, as well as a tolerance for intermittent failure," wrote Smith, who gained his digital-media guru reputation at Atlantic Media.
Justin Smith became CEO of Bloomberg Media Group in 2013, overseeing magazines, digital media properties and the TV network.(Photo: Dave Cross)
Smith covets an audience beyond the narrow and elite corridors of the finance industry, and broadening access to its vast library of content to new readers is a top priority. Bloomberg bought BusinessWeek in 2009 to tiptoe into a more mainstream segment of the business journalism market, and its efforts at resuscitating the struggling magazine have won plaudits from media critics. "We must go further by decisively shifting our focus to global business in order to att! ract and engage an even broader audience of business decision makers," Smith wrote.
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Among its plans:
* New websites. It will launch sites that will focus on specific topics to "go bolder and deeper" in coverage and signal "to consumers outside of finance that Bloomberg has the media products for them." He didn't identify the topics.
Casual business story readers now access Bloomberg's stories through Bloomberg.com and Businessweek.com, but Bloomberg needs to do a better job differentiating the two brands, Smith said.
* Video and TV programming. Bloomberg will invest in producing more business video content. Segments from Bloomberg TV, its cable network that trails competitors in ratings, will be integrated more broadly onto its websites.
* Licensing magazines. Its print magazines will be licensed abroad more aggressively, Smith said. Bloomberg Markets, which publishes stories about financial markets, will expand its "editorial focus" to a wider financial professional audience, he said.
Bloomberg Pursuits, a quarterly magazine about luxury spending, will increase the number of print issues. It didn't specify the target number. Its brand and stories will be featured on TV and at events.
* More radio stations. Bloomberg currently offers radio coverage in New York and Boston and plans to launch in more cities. It didn't specify target markets.
* Design. Bloomberg Businessweek's assertive design sensibilities will be applied to other magazines and websites.
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