Bloomberg Businessweek - History

History

Businessweek was first published in September 1929, only weeks before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Its original purpose was to provide information and opinions as to what was happening in the business world, at the time. The president of McGraw-Hill Publishing, Malcolm Muir stated, "The Business Week always has a point of view, and usually a strong opinion, both of which it does not hesitate to express. And all the way through, we hope you will discover it is possible to write sanely and intelligently of business without being pompous or ponderous."

Initially, the magazine published sections that included topics such as marketing, labor, finance, and management, among others. Consequently, Businessweek pioneered the action of covering national political issues that directly impacted the business world. In 1950, the magazine published its first executive pay survey, which it still does today.

Stephen B. Shepard served as the editor in chief of the magazine from 1984 until 2005, when he was chosen to be the founding dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Stephen J. Adler of The Wall Street Journal was named to succeed Shepard as editor in chief at Businessweek.

Like nearly all magazines, Businessweek suffered from a decline in advertising during the late-2000s recession. Print revenues halved, to US$60 million, between 2006 and 2009, and online revenues only grew marginally, to $20.5 million. In July 2009, it was reported that McGraw-Hill was trying to sell Businessweek and had hired Evercore Partners to conduct the sale. Because of the magazine's liabilities it was suggested that it might change hands for the nominal price of $1 to an investor who was willing to incur losses turning the magazine around.

In late 2009, Bloomberg L.P. bought the magazine—for a reported $2 million to $5 million plus assumption of liabilities—and renamed it Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Adler resigned as editor-in-chief and was replaced by Josh Tyrangiel, who had been deputy managing editor for Time Magazine. In early 2010, the magazine title was restyled Bloomberg Businessweek (with a lowercase "w") as part of a redesign.