Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith joined the latest episode of the Wall Street Journal Media Mix podcast to discuss the proliferation of fake news stories, the future of the digital media landscape, and Bloomberg Media’s strategy for global expansion.
In conversation with Steven Perlberg on Nov. 30, Smith addressed the growing phenomenon of fake news in the weeks following the presidential election. According to Smith, the so-called “fake news crisis” sheds light on the potential danger facing premium publishers of publishing content to giant social media platforms.
“CMOs have been pouring their dollars into these environments because of great data, great accountability, and great ROI, but I think the context piece of it – which is ‘what kind of content are we around and what is the experience’ – has not perhaps come to the forefront of their thinking,” he said.
Smith also discussed the recent revamp of Bloomberg’s news operation and the dedicated expansion of Bloomberg Media’s key global strategy. He cited the relaunch of the Bloomberg Businessweek title and brand as an example of efforts to cater more specifically to a business and financial audience. The media unit has also focused on building “multi-platform expressions of content and multi-platform opportunities for monetization,” Smith said. The globalization of this multi-platform business model, which is anchored in the digital space, will continue to be a main priority for the media executive.
Finally, Smith offered his take on the future of the wider digital media landscape. He stressed the importance of revenue specification and diversification in light of the accelerating decline of print advertising revenue. As for Bloomberg’s strategy, “our goal is to be the number one global business media company in the world, and we are on our way,” Smith said.
Listen to the full interview with Smith here.