US Financial News Site Business Insider Launches UK Edition

New York based financial news website Business Insider has launched its UK edition for European markets recently this month, Prolific North UK reports. This new UK edition will focus on finance, politics and strategy, technology and will be led by managing director Julian Childs. Business Insider veteran Jim Edwards will be responsible for editing the UK version.

Demanding “fairness” from his journalists, the business media mogul Henry Blodget said the financial news site has grown to reach 55 million monthly visitors in the U.S, with a staff of 200 employees, Independent UK reports. Of the 55 million visitors, around 3 million visitors are from the U.K, hence the UK edition will cater to these loyal readers of Business Insider. The financial news website debuted in the U.K. on November 3, with an initial team of seven to ten journalists working on the U.K. version.

Henry Blodget, chief executive and editor-in-chief, said: “We’re bullish about launching a U.K. version of Business Insider. We believe there’s a void in the marketplace for our digital-first approach to news aimed at business leaders of today and tomorrow. It’s an especially exciting time for us to dive into this market, as the U.K. and the continent remain pivotal players in international affairs and business.”

This is the seventh version of Business Insider following its launches in countries to include Australia, China, Singapore and Malaysia through partnerships, Guardian.com reports. According to Blodget, the UK edition will be “complementary and competitive” with the FT, but his general view is that traditional print publishers are not at the leading edge of the digital revolution. Through this launch the company is aiming at significantly increasing the amount of web traffic from the U.K. to be currently at 5% of the global usage. Blodget shows absolutely no concern about the impact of the deep pocketed BBC digital news service.

Blodget firmly believes that Business Insider has an edge over its rivals and added, “We are a native digital business publication. Our model is better serving digital readers than the digital operations of a lot of traditional companies. It is not the thrust of the publication for a lot of traditional publishers – digital is a secondary concern. We are reaching a new generation of readers… 10 years younger than competitors. We are not trying to be a newspaper; we are not trying to produce TV journalism. We are 100% focused on digital.”

By: Savita V Jayaram