Why Big Media Hires More Blockchain Journalists by DailyCoin

• American media is increasing the spaces dedicated to the crypto industry because they know what to improve.
• The investment in human talent that better explains how companies operate in the crypto space has increased in the mainstream media.
• “When things go down, it’s even more important to have good credible, rigorous, comprehensive coverage” of the news, says the editor of Bloomberg.

Until not long ago, the daily coverage of news related to the crypto industry was subject to a specialized website. However, this changed about two years ago, soon after the boom of digital assets in the market, which happened in the middle of a pandemic.

Little by little, the major media opened entire sections dedicated to cryptocurrencies and the blockchain. That was the case for prestigious American media such as Bloomberg, Fortune, Forbes, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Money, Gizmodo and others.

Even some like The Wall Street Journal, who remained reluctant to touch on issues related to the cryptocurrency market, ended up accepting the reality. An industry that had reached $2.37 billion last December could not continue to be kept out of the mainstream news.

Greater investment in journalistic talent

This has forced major social media outlets worldwide to invest more in hiring specialized cryptocurrency and blockchain journalists. In this way, they can offer their users more and better content with a professional approach.

Amid the cryptocurrency market crash in June, Fortune business magazine made a job offer to journalist Jeff John Roberts to take over the crypto section and lead a team of specialized journalists in the area, Digiday.com revealed.

The matter was previously discussed by Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell with the company’s CEO and CFO. In the midst of crypto winter, did it make sense to hire a specialized team of journalists to cover the topic?

Shontell wondered what the people at the magazine would think about launching the cryptocurrency project right then.

“But this was actually our dedication. We’re putting a flag in the ground. We think it’s a great time to launch an initiative that we think will be a long-term play,” Shontell said. Fortune has increased crypto-related content. The four areas the magazine focuses on now is finance and investment, technology, leadership and crypto.Recently, it has dedicated several covers to key figures in the crypto industry such as Katie Haun, CEO of Haun Ventures, CZ Zhao, co-founder of Binance, and Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX .

Shontell thinks that investments in the industry have grown a lot. She claims that there is “a lot of action” being seen in the crypto-asset market, generated by new entrants and other players, including big banks and venture capital funds. Therefore, it would not make sense to stop covering this area.

Bad news Good news

Following the American journalistic maxim: “bad news good news”, the major media incorporated entire sections of cryptography and specialized teams amid the storm caused by corporate bankruptcies and the collapse of crypto projects.

“When things go down, it’s even more important to have good credible, rigorous, comprehensive coverage of these things,” said Stacy-Marie Ishmael, Bloomberg’s crypto editor, who joined last September. The veteran reporter believes that “when the markets go down … that’s when people really need better information, better news, better data and better reporting.” In her opinion, bear markets represent “a great time to help people figure out what’s going on.” Since her hire, Ishmael has brought a little more than a dozen blockchain and cryptocurrency journalists to Bloomberg’s cryptocurrency section. And she hopes to have two other reporters by September.

Ishmael confirms that what is happening in the crypto industry is very similar to the financial crisis of 2008. Bloomberg’s coverage in the cryptocurrency section is primarily focused on regulatory issues. It is about explaining how consumers, investors and institutions are affected.

The newsrooms make forecasts for the future

At Forbes, the senior editor for the cryptocurrency section is Michael del Castillo. Now Forbes Digital Assets has two more newly hired reporters to feed this project launched earlier this year with original content. There are a total of six journalists and researchers, including the editor, dedicated to the subject.

Del Castillo said the company is looking to add more employees to the team. “I think in the early years of crypto reporting, the trade publications led the way,” he emphasized. “Mainstream publications weren’t so focused on this,” he explained. “What’s happening now is that major media players are realizing that crypto and digital assets aren’t going away, and they’re building newsrooms to last.”

“Crypto is here to stay”

As for Money magazine, which just celebrated 50 years of editorial activity in the financial world, it plans to hire a full-time editor soon for the cryptocurrency and fintech section. So far, two journalists are responsible for covering this area, which is being given more and more space.

According to Money Editorial Director Mike Ayers, the topic of digital assets has become one of the magazine’s “most widely read” areas of coverage over the past year. “What was considered by many to be a fringe area of ​​money years ago, it is clear that crypto is here to stay,” he said.

He further indicated that “crypto provides another opportunity for the average investor to diversify, and we want to provide that information daily.” In Gizmodo, The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNBC, Fox News and others, content related to cryptocurrencies and the blockchain industry is becoming more frequent, and not exactly as marginal topics.

“We truly believe that blockchain technology will do a lot for all industries going forward, so we want to be at the forefront of covering it,” concluded Fortune’s Alyson Shontell.

Continue reading at DailyCoin