Bloomberg Businessweek relaunches

Yesterday, Bloomberg Businessweek relaunched with a monthly print magazine and an enhanced daily digital experience, showcasing the brand’s journalism on the rapidly changing world of money, power and technology under its new Editor Brad Stone. The inaugural cover story is a rare look inside LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault’s empire.

Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies said: “Bloomberg Businessweek’s expanded new monthly print edition and enhanced digital experience is a reflection of our company’s commitment to a brand that has always meant excellence in reporting and creative storytelling on the big issues that shape the business world. It marks the beginning of a promising new chapter for the magazine and its sophisticated audience of readers, and in a business landscape that is more dynamic, interconnected, and fast-moving than ever, it’s the latest way we are working to give our customers the knowledge and insights they need to stay ahead of the curve.”

Bloomberg says the new commercial and editorial strategy for the brand prioritizes subscriber growth and engagement, as well as premium advertisers – and is driven by an ongoing shift in how Bloomberg’s audience consumes content. Businessweek is available on the Bloomberg Terminal as well as Bloomberg.com, the Bloomberg app and Apple News+.

On the eve of the Paris Olympics, the inaugural July issue features an exclusive interview with LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, in which he discusses succession, strategy, design and his ascent to become one of the richest people in the world. Bloomberg Businessweek Editor Brad Stone interviewed Arnault in Paris where Ruven Afanador photographed him in a session for the magazine, added the publisher.

Stone was appointed editor of the brand in January this year. “The new Businessweek is bigger and more ambitious than ever, examining the most influential names in business, economics, technology and politics,” said Stone. “With our cover profile of LVMH Chief Bernard Arnault, one of the richest people in the world, we’re off to a fast start.” Read his editor’s letter here.

Bloomberg says Businessweek is increasingly consumed on digital platforms, ranking first among all sections on Bloomberg.com for unique visitors per article, and the content plays a key role in reader-to-subscriber conversion. Bloomberg Media says its subscriber base recently reached 590,000, in the six years since launching the global news subscription business.

“Our audience has a uniquely high concentration of global business and government leaders, and Bloomberg Businessweek’s new cross-platform vision addresses their desire for extensive context on the news affecting business and economies worldwide,” said Karen Saltser, CEO, Bloomberg Media. “The relaunch builds on an audience-first business strategy that fosters deeper engagement, so we can better understand and grow our base of nearly 600,000 digital and print subscribers. Our advertisers also want a more substantive connection with that audience and will benefit from the evolution of the Businessweek brand.”

“Bloomberg Businessweek is the front window to our global newsroom, producing some of our most popular journalism,” said Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait. “The new monthly magazine is just one part of a bigger rethink – including a new Bloomberg.com weekend edition launching later this year — to give subscribers our content in the format they most want.”

The July 2024 issue is online now and hits newsstands on July 1.

According to the publisher, the new Bloomberg Businessweek includes:

Monthly print magazine

• The redesigned print magazine includes more of the ambitious long-form feature stories that the brand is known for, including profiles of the most important people and companies in business and in-depth investigations. The magazine also now has shorter, forward-looking reporting and explainers, more use of data graphics and a new regular game feature.
• The premium monthly magazine will be printed on a higher quality paper stock and will have an increased page count, with the debut issue having 120 pages. The new design is crisper, bolder, and paired back — while offering more space for our ambitious photography, graphics and illustration.
• The front of the book will feature three new sections: In Context (an informative mix of news, graphics and photographs), In View (a look ahead by contributing writers to help leaders make smart decisions), and In Depth(thematic packages linked to world events and Bloomberg Live events). The new back of the book will include Pursuits (culture stories, timely reviews, and recommendations and interviews with tastemakers); and a new back page – featuring a different business-themed logic puzzle every month.
• Additional feature stories in the July issue include: Matt Campbell and Annie Lee’s investigation of the history of fatal accidents and environmental degradation at a nickel mining facility in Indonesia, which process a key component of electric vehicle batteries; Annie Massa‘s profile of Jeff Yass, head of the trading firm Susquehanna, a major backer of Bytedance – and a new supporter of Donald Trump; and “A Walk With… Frederick Richard”: the first piece in Businessweek’s new interview franchise looking at rising names in business and culture; spends time with the gymnast @FrederickFlips who is building an influential social media business while pursuing Olympic gold.

Website and mobile

• Businessweek will continue to publish daily online as a critical element of Bloomberg.com’s digital subscription offering. Design updates to the section front, article pages, the magazine table of contents, and more elevate Businessweek’s digital experience by showcasing its in-depth multiplatform journalism and allow the brand to help drive engagement and discoverability for digital subscribers.
• Analysis and contributors: Across both print and digital, Businessweek is cultivating weekly analysis from some of Bloomberg’s most well-known writers within their beats, including Amanda Mull on culture and commerce, Deena Shanker on the business of food, Ashlee Vance on technology beyond Big Tech, and more. Additionally, there will be a list of rotating writers who will contribute regularly, including Kim Bhasin on entertainment and sports, Olivia Carville on internet safety, Max Chafkin on technology, Zeke Faux on finance and crypto, Josh Green on politics, Annie Massa on Wall Street wealth, Lucas Shaw on entertainment and media, among others. Outside contributing writers will include award-winning journalists Evan Ratliff and Samanth Subramanian.
• In the July issue, Tom Orlik examines why central banks have struggled to tame inflation; Beth Kowitt looks at how the DEI backlash has frozen progress for corporate women; and Mull declares there’s a crisis of legitimacy in e-commerce.

Daily newsletter

The newsletter gets a redesign as well, along with an enhanced experience and a new name: Businessweek Daily. The brand’s writers will provide fresh perspective each day on the biggest stories in business, economics, finance, politics and tech. The newsletter will also feature Businessweek’s original reporting, photography and illustrations. The newsletter’s audience has grown by 7% so far in 2024 and by more than 26% since making the switch from a weekly newsletter to a daily newsletter in December 2022.

Audio

The daily Bloomberg Businessweek show is available on radio and is one of Bloomberg’s top-performing podcasts with more than 1.1 million monthly downloads. It will incorporate more of Businessweek’s new regular contributors Businessweek will continue to produce audio series such as the weekly Elon, Inc. and there is a new podcast for the brand currently in development for this year.

Video

Bloomberg Originals’ mini-documentaries that investigate the intersection of business and culture regularly feature Businessweek stories. The new Originals season of Bloomberg Investigates debuts in July and includes episodes based on Businessweek stories. A new season of the Businessweek-branded Hello World series hosted by Ashlee Vance will debut in 2025. The brand is also building up its social video efforts in order to reach a new and younger audience across all social channels.

Live events

Bloomberg Live Experiences events feature interviews, panels, and discussions with Businessweek journalists and editors and will incorporate a marquee Businessweek interview in its tentpole events. Businessweek’s “Ones to Watch” lists are also incorporated into programming at the Bloomberg Green Festival, Bloomberg Screentime, Bloomberg Tech, and Bloomberg Invest.

The July launch print edition features more than 30 advertisers, added Bloomberg, including Gaggenau, Polestar, Turkish Airlines, Vacheron Constantin, UBS and more. All print advertisers are also integrated in Businessweek via its partnership with Apple News+.

In January-May 2024, the publisher says monthly subscriber conversions were up by 28% year-over-year. Businessweek has 1.2 million average monthly active users on Apple News+ and a high level of engagement on the platform.

Businessweek‘s editorial staff taps into Bloomberg’s newsroom of 2,900 journalists and analysts across 118 countries to serve its readers on every platform, including print, digital, audio, video, and live events. Founded in 1929 – now in its 95th year of publication – Businessweek was acquired by Bloomberg LP in 2009.