Business Insider’s editor-in-chief is stepping down | Semafor

Carlson was one of the first employees at the outlet, and oversaw much of its growth and transformation into a general interest publication in the late 2010s. The publication changed its name to Insider, and built out large lifestyle and political reporting teams, hoping to capture a broader audience. But like many digital news outlets whose content was primarily distributed on social media, it faced challenges over the past several years as Facebook tweaked its algorithm away from news. In 2023, CEO Barbara Peng announced that the news organization was changing its name back to Business Insider, focusing on its roots as a tech and markets-focused publication.

Semafor first reported last month that Carlson was likely to leave the role later this year. Axel Springer stood by Carlson amid legal threats from Ackman over BI’s stories about parts of his wife’s academic writings that appeared to be lifted from other places. But as Semafor previously reported, the company’s CEO Mathias Döpfner privately considered firing Carlson during the intense online backlash from Ackman and his supporters online.

An Axel Springer spokesperson said that “Carlson’s leadership enabled Business Insider to become an award-winning newsroom that reaches hundreds of millions of readers and viewers monthly around the world.” But the company also noted that its renewed focus on business news would heavily influence the search for Carlson’s successor.

“We’re proud to see Business Insider’s renewed focus on what it does best: deeply reported, unafraid coverage of business, tech, and innovation, and we are excited for CEO Barbara Peng to lead the search for Business Insider’s next Editor in Chief,” the spokesperson said.

Correction: CEO Barbara Peng changed the outlet’s name back to Business Insider in 2023, not Henry Blodget in 2022.