Bloomberg LP, purveyor of eponymous data terminals and publisher of Bloomberg Markets and Bloomberg BusinessWeek, is rumored to be building a business unit that would take on a host of Beltway publications, including CQ – Roll Call, The Hill and Politico.
DC analysis represents an effective extension for Bloomberg. For its terminal business, the firm already has to cover Washington as closely as it covers Wall Street.
Finding ways to collect, aggregate and resell content is second nature to Bloomberg. Every day, the firm sifts its reporting and data into flexible chunks that can be reused, combined or analyzed by both Bloomberg and its terminal customers. They can also be published through one or more of the company’s print vehicles or on its web site.
Magazines, newspapers and association publishers should learn from Bloomberg. While there is value in reporting, news is increasingly consumed as a commodity. Future publishing profits will be derived from the ability to use reporting to spot trends, provide context and offer ancillary goods and services.
All of this added value is made possible by the reporting, but insight and understanding are becoming the coin of the realm. Reporting is not the product (anymore); it’s really the ante.
Full disclosure: We have done work in the past for Bloomberg. The information provided in this post is derived from publicly available sources. The perspective, as ever, is my own.
Edited February 19 to add: Bloomberg has bought Eagle Eye Publishing, a database publisher covering federal government procurement.
