NEW YORK, Jan 5: Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith has left the financial behemoth to launch his own global news organisation. New York Times media columnist Ben Smith also has left his Times job to lead Justin's future newsroom.

Justin Smith says, "The news industry is facing a crisis in consumer trust and confidence due to the distorting influence of social media and rising levels of polarization and parochialism." And that is going to define his start-up. “My plan is to launch a premium news business that serves unbiased journalism to a global audience and provides a high-quality platform for the best journalists in the world,” he added in an email now quoted by media. He has decided to pursue a "personal dream", and a "market opportunity." Earlier Justin was president of Atlantic Media, which owns The Atlantic, in New York.

Ben Smith wants to reach 200 million 'college educated' audience. "There are 200 million people who are college educated, who read in English, but who no one is really treating like an audience, but who talk to each other and talk to us," Ben Smith told the Times on Tuesday. "That’s who we see as our audience." Smith had joined the Times in 2020 after leading BuzzFeed News for eight years. He plans with Justin a global newsroom experimenting with new formats of story-telling.

David G Bradley, partner in The Atlantic and Atlantic Media, is likely financing the new venture, according to reports.