FIR Interview: Kevin Delaney, Editor in Chief, Quartz

QuartzOffering a new type of publication in the new global economy for a new class of global business executive is the primary goal of US publisher Atlantic Media with Quartz, a digital business magazine launching later this year.

"We’re building a new kind of business news venture," says Kevin J. Delaney, Editor in Chief at Quartz. "We see the present world of business undergoing a seminal shift."

In conversation with FIR co-host Neville Hobson during a visit to London, Delaney explains that seminal shift, speaking of how the global shocks of the past few years have exposed a fundamentally new architecture underpinning the economic order, reshaped by a new generation of businesses and business people.

"This generation is defined not by geographic location or by market capitalization, but rather by its ability to work anywhere and marry the impact of a world titan with the nimbleness of a digital startup," Delaney says. "It is fluent in the lingua francas of the modern age: commerce, design, technology."

Quartz will be digital only - there will be no print edition - and Delaney talks about its strong focus on the tablet as a primary platform to deliver compelling content.

"What we’re laying as a foundation is the possibility to produce content on any different platform with an equality between different forms," Delaney said in a recent interview with The Economist. "On tablets, for example, people probably have more of an appetite to read long-form writing and to go through a whole range of articles instead of just stepping in and out of sight."

During the interview, Delaney also shares his thinking on a probable media landscape in 2013 and beyond as digital delivery becomes increasingly significant for mainstream publishers and influential business readers alike; how Quartz will be monetized through advertising support; and the type of journalist he is keen to hire for the fledging venture.

Quartz will launch in Fall 2012.

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About our Conversation Partner

Kevin DelaneyKevin Delaney is Editor in Chief of Quartz, a new global digital business brand from Atlantic Media to launch later this year.

Delaney came to Atlantic Media in January 2012 from The Wall Street Journal, where he was most recently managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Online. There he was responsible for the Journal’s digital editorial content and direction amid a period of rapid growth in readership and revenue and successful expansion to new platforms such as the iPad.

Prior to that, Delaney spent a decade as a reporter and senior special writer for the Journal. He covered internet companies including Google, Yahoo and Facebook from the San Francisco bureau, and spent five years reporting from the paper’s Paris bureau.

Earlier in his career, Delaney was a staff reporter for SmartMoney Magazine and a producer of business and public affairs programming in Montreal and New York. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University.

Connect with Kevin on Twitter: @kevinjdelaney.

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This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

Podsafe music - On A Podcast Instrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.

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