Bloomberg Businessweek
The Business Week magazine debuted in New York City during September 1929. This launch occurred just weeks before the catastrophic stock market crash that would define the decade. Malcolm Muir served as the founder and president of McGraw-Hill Publishing from 1928 until 1937. The publication provided information on marketing, labor, finance, management, and Washington Outlook. It became one of the first publications to cover national political issues impacting business directly. Early sections focused heavily on what was happening within the business world at that specific time.
Stephen B. Shepard served as editor-in-chief from 1984 until 2005. Under his leadership readership grew to more than six million by the late 1980s. The magazine shifted its strategy in the 1970s to add consumers outside the business world. By 1975 it carried more advertising pages annually than any other magazine in the United States. Stephen J. Adler succeeded Shepard after he became founding dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Businessweek began publishing annual rankings of United States business school MBA programs in 1988. In 2006 they started publishing annual rankings of undergraduate business programs alongside their existing listing.
Businessweek experienced a decline in circulation during the late-2000s recession period. Advertising revenues fell one-third by the start of 2009 while circulation dropped to 936,000 copies. McGraw-Hill hired Evercore Partners to conduct the sale in July 2009. Bloomberg L.P. bought the magazine in late 2009 for between $2 million and $5 million plus assumption of liabilities. News reports published in 2019 suggest McGraw-Hill received the high end of the speculated price at $5 million. During the following years the bold face of Businessweek was cultivated largely by creative director Richard Turley. The magazine was losing $30 million per year about half of the $60 million reported loss in 2009. Nearly 30 Bloomberg News journalists were let go across the U.S., Europe, and Asia in 2016.
The magazine title was restyled as Bloomberg Businessweek with a lowercase w in early 2010. This change marked part of a broader redesign effort. Creative director Richard Turley cultivated the bold eclectic playful and memetic face of Businessweek. Rob Vargas served as creative director from 2014 onward. Deputy Creative Director Tracy Ma worked on over 200 issues during her time from 2011 through 2016. In 2011 Adweek named Bloomberg Businessweek as the top business magazine in the United States. The publication won the general excellence award for general-interest magazines at the National Magazine Awards in 2012. Josh Tyrangiel was named magazine editor of the year by Ad Age that same year.
On the 4th of October 2018 Bloomberg Businessweek published an article titled The Big Hack claiming China used a tiny chip to infiltrate U.S. companies. Jordan Robertson and Michael Riley wrote the piece about placing an extra integrated circuit on a Supermicro server motherboard. Pingwest identified the chip mentioned in the article as a balun. They pointed out its size made it impossible to implement any form of attack due to lack of storage space. Apple Amazon and Supermicro issued blanket denials by 2 p.m. on the day of publication. The United States Department of Homeland Security stated they saw no reason to question those refutations within the week. The National Security Agency denied the articles claims along with Government Communications Headquarters and National Cyber Security Centre of the United Kingdom. In 2021 Bloomberg published a follow-up article standing by its allegations.
International editions were available on newsstands in Europe and Asia until 2005 when regional publication was suspended. That same year the Russian edition launched in collaboration with Rodionov Publishing House. Businessweek partnered with InfoPro Management based in Beirut Lebanon to produce the Arabic version in 22 Arab countries. Plans to introduce a Polish-language edition called Bloomberg Businessweek Polska appeared in 2011. A Chinese edition relaunched in November 2011 following earlier suspension. Bloomberg Businessweek launched an iPad version using Apple's subscription billing service that same year. There are over 100,000 subscribers to the iPad edition of Businessweek. Brad Stone was appointed editor in January 2024 when the magazine switched to publishing biweekly. By June of the same year it became a monthly publication.
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Common questions
When did Bloomberg Businessweek magazine debut in New York City?
The Business Week magazine debuted in New York City during September 1929. This launch occurred just weeks before the catastrophic stock market crash that would define the decade.
Who founded McGraw-Hill Publishing and served as president from 1928 until 1937?
Malcolm Muir served as the founder and president of McGraw-Hill Publishing from 1928 until 1937. The publication provided information on marketing, labor, finance, management, and Washington Outlook.
How much money did Bloomberg L.P. pay to buy Businessweek in late 2009?
Bloomberg L.P. bought the magazine in late 2009 for between $2 million and $5 million plus assumption of liabilities. News reports published in 2019 suggest McGraw-Hill received the high end of the speculated price at $5 million.
What article did Bloomberg Businessweek publish on the 4th of October 2018 regarding China?
On the 4th of October 2018 Bloomberg Businessweek published an article titled The Big Hack claiming China used a tiny chip to infiltrate U.S. companies. Jordan Robertson and Michael Riley wrote the piece about placing an extra integrated circuit on a Supermicro server motherboard.
When did Brad Stone become editor of Bloomberg Businessweek and what was the new publishing schedule?
Brad Stone was appointed editor in January 2024 when the magazine switched to publishing biweekly. By June of the same year it became a monthly publication.