- Rock’n'roller Tyrangiel to head BusinessWeek
Michael Bloomberg’s new play thing, the top (but loss-making) BusinessWeek magazine will have 37-year-old Josh Tyrangiel as its new editor, once the acquisition from McGraw-Hill completes in December.
In his “On Media” blog within the BusinessWeek site, Tom Lowry wrote today:
By selecting the 37-year-old Tyrangiel who is not a business journalist per se, Bloomberg clearly wants a leader for BusinessWeek who is not only a highly-regarded editor but someone who has demonstrated he knows how to reach a wider array of readers in both print and online.
Tyrangiel, a deputy managing editor at Time magazine and the editor of Time.com, is actually a bit of a rock’n'roller. Prior to taking the reins at Time.com he was the magazine’s music critic and also wrote for publications such as Vibe and Rolling Stone. While he may never have interviewed Bernard Madoff or Warren Buffet, he can count Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney and the Dixie Chicks among his interviewees.
Bloomberg’s chief content officer and former Time Inc. editor in chief Norman Pearlstine, was reported by Lowry as saying:
“I saw Josh in a number of leadership positions as he took on increasing responsibilities at TIME.”
He continued:
“Working closely with him …. I came to appreciate his intelligence, curiosity, energy, and integrity. Josh is recognized within Time Inc. and its parent, Time Warner Inc., as an ‘editor’s editor’ and a natural leader. His understanding of the ways in which print and online publications can work together will serve Bloomberg well as we expand our consumer media offerings.”
Changes have been sweeping through BusinessWeek since the sale to Bloomberg was announced last month. Jobs have gone and staff fear the venerable old magazine will become a promotional tool for Bloomberg, with the real business being done online. With his strong online credentials, Tyrangiel, who will replace Stephen Adler, may well help confirm those fears. His tenure at Time.com saw web traffic soar from 400 million page views in 2006 to what could be an estimated 1.8 billion page views this year, Lowry wrote.
Top Time Editor To Become BusinessWeek’s New Editor
Posted by: Tom Lowry on November 17
Josh Tyrangiel, a deputy managing editor at Time magazine and the top editor of its online operations, will become the first editor of a Bloomberg-owned BusinessWeek. The acquisition, announced Oct. 13, is expected to close in early December.
By selecting the 37-year-old Tyrangiel who is not a business journalist per se, Bloomberg clearly wants a leader for BusinessWeek who is not only a highly-regarded editor but someone who has demonstrated he knows how to reach a wider array of readers in both print and online. A major reason Bloomberg LP executives pursued BusinessWeek was to reach a broader audience beyond Wall Street and the professional investor communities.
“I saw Josh in a number of leadership positions as he took on increasing responsibilities at TIME,” says Norman Pearlstine, Bloomberg’s chief content officer and a former editor-in-chief of Time Inc., Time’s parent. “Working closely with him …. I came to appreciate his intelligence, curiosity, energy, and integrity. Josh is recognized within Time Inc. and its parent, Time Warner Inc., as an ‘editor’s editor’ and a natural leader. His understanding of the ways in which print and online publications can work together will serve Bloomberg well as we expand our consumer media offerings.”
In some media circles, Tyrangiel was considered a leading candidate to succeed Time managing editor Richard Stengel. According to sources, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes was so impressed with Tyrangiel that he tried to recruit him to be come the editor of CNN.com, the online arm of the 24-hour cable news channel, but Time Inc.’s current editor-in-chief John Huey intervened and convinced Tyrangiel to stay at Time with the promise that he might one day succeed Stengel.
During his tenure at Time.com, Tyrangiel boosted the Web site’s traffic from 400 million page views in 2006 to what could be an estimated 1.8 billion page views this year. Previous to Time, Tyrangiel worked at Rolling Stone and Vibe magazines and served as a news producer at MTV.
“Josh Tyrangiel will be a tremendous asset as we build the market presence of BusinessWeek backed by Bloomberg’s global multimedia news organization, to create the most compelling business news for the most sought-after readers.,” said Bloomberg L.P. President Daniel Doctoroff.
Tyrangiel will report to Pearlstine, who in turn will report on editorial matters to Matthew Winkler, Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief. “Norm and Josh are the ideal team to deliver a terrific business magazine that brings the most trusted, most influential and most important news to a global audience of thought leaders,” said Winkler.
Tyrangiel will work alongside BusinessWeek executive editors Ellen Pollock and John Byrne and managing editor Ciro Scotti. Pearlstine announced earlier that they would continue in their roles at the magazine. Tyrangiel succeeds Stephen J. Adler, who announced his resignation as editor-in-chief on Oct. 20.
