Two experienced media professionals are launching a new media outlet aimed at English-speaking graduates who value independent news sources which, they say, is some 200m people globally. Justin Smith, ex-CEO of Bloomberg Media, and Ben Smith, a former NYT editor and co-head of BuzzFeed, are said to be getting great interest from potential investors. The move follows the launch of Puck (Hollywood-Silicon Valley-Wall Street), expansion of (the apparently profitable) Axios, and the global plans for Politico (under Axel Springer ownership).
Much is yet to be disclosed, and Ben Smith’s comment to New Yorker is unrevealing: “We’re thinking more about the audience than about competitors… I think there is a big audience of people who are dissatisfied with their current options.
There’s a lot of research that suggests that, for…a range of overlapping reasons”. No launch date yet. But everytime you see an ambitious global plan – which, presumably, will attract a fair amount of launch capital – don’t you think about the lower-cost, lower-risk potential of doing it in one country?
David Bradley, former owner of The Atlantic, says he wants to invest in the Smiths’ project whatever it is.