By Krystal Anjela H. Gamboa, Special Features and Content Writer
As it marks its 39th anniversary this year, BusinessWorld demonstrates that the future of journalism lies not in choosing between paper and screens, but in bringing the strengths of both together.
In an increasingly digital media environment, newspapers face questions about relevance, readership, and longevity. For BusinessWorld, however, the shift to digital has not meant leaving its print roots behind. Instead, it has meant expanding how its journalism reaches readers — through websites, social media, podcasts, videos, events, interactive, and digital products.
BusinessWorld’s growing presence in the digital space has been a gradual expansion of its role as a source of business information and analysis.
BusinessWorld Executive Vice-President Lucien C. Dy Tioco once described this turning point following the PhilSTAR Media Group’s acquisition of BusinessWorld in 2015.
“When The Philippine STAR bought BusinessWorld in 2015, we immediately implemented our multimedia strategies into the paper,” Mr. Dy Tioco previously said. “In just one year, BusinessWorld was taken out of the red by strengthening its hold on the business community and emphasizing the strength of its content.”
That transformation eventually extended the publication beyond print and its website, encompassing social media, podcasts, events, video, and other digital products.
The move toward multimedia has always been tied to understanding the audience it serves, Mr. Dy Tioco added.
“The very inspiration that helped BusinessWorld transform into a multimedia company is understanding its audience, which is the business community, from what information they would like to consume, and what they need,” he explained.
BusinessWorld’s Online Editor Eduardo G. Geronia said BusinessWorld’s strength lies in its capability to make business concepts accessible to the common reader.
“The strength of BusinessWorld is how it explains complex business concepts in a comprehensible format that goes beyond text with infographics, long- and short-form videos and podcasts. BusinessWorld is ever present on multiple social media channels such as Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and YouTube while leveraging the strengths of each platform.”
Social Media Marketing Specialist Aren Mae M. Cayetano described how BusinessWorld has grown beyond its traditional newspaper and website presence.
“Over the years, BusinessWorld has grown, expanding into diverse formats such as video content, annual and quarterly reports, monthly podcast episodes, monthly events, and physical and digital products through our e-commerce platform BWorldX,” Ms. Cayetano explained. “We have also launched our Viber and Facebook communities, giving our audience the opportunity to join polls and stay updated with the latest news in a non-intrusive way.”
These show that the publication’s digital presence continues to focus on engaging younger audiences while remaining relevant to its established professional audience.
Meeting audiences where they are
The shift from print to digital is closely tied to changes in how audiences consume information.
Mr. Geronia observed that audiences increasingly want “digestible bits of information” and are consuming content through mobile devices while processing multiple streams of information simultaneously. BusinessWorld, he said, will continue to deliver content geared toward mobile platforms.
Ms. Cayetano similarly observed that audiences today consume news primarily through social media.
“Short-form, visual content that is easy to absorb is preferred, so we often transform stories into engaging videos or graphics while ensuring accuracy,” she shared. “In this landscape, it has become essential to deliver news and information in formats and on platforms that best resonate with our audiences.”
For Social Media Specialist for News Raiza R. Dadia, this shift presents an opportunity to make business journalism more accessible beyond its traditional professional audience.
“I’ve observed that audiences are increasingly on-the-go and want to maximize their time, so they tend to prefer content that is concise, easy to understand, and accessible across different platforms,” she said.
Expanding the business conversation
BusinessWorld’s digital platforms have also widened the scope of the publication’s audience. Beyond reporting business developments, digital platforms have provided opportunities to highlight the people behind businesses.
“Beyond reporting the latest business developments, BusinessWorld also helps empower entrepreneurs and small business owners by giving them a platform to share their journeys, challenges, and successes,” Ms. Dadia noted.
An example of this is Launchpad, a regular section on the paper dedicated to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, whose stories are often coupled with videos published on BusinessWorld’s website, social media, and YouTube channels that expound further on the subject featured in the story.
Through articles, features, and short-form video interviews, BusinessWorld can showcase entrepreneurs ranging from those building e-commerce ventures to those running traditional businesses.
Social media has likewise become an important part of BusinessWorld’s value proposition, extending beyond real-time news updates to provide additional avenues for brands. As businesses look for ways to reach audiences across multiple platforms, sponsored social media posts and other digital executions, under BusinessWorld Spotlight, allow brands to maximize BusinessWorld’s established reach while complementing their campaigns across other formats.
“[Brands] recognize that our channels are strong. It’s not just limited to one channel, to one platform, or to an article. They make most of the other channels we have, recognizing how big our reach is,” BusinessWorld Digital Sales Lead and Senior Account Manager Jao A. Malapo shared.
As audience attention becomes increasingly fragmented across digital platforms, the ability to extend a campaign across multiple channels gives both the publication and brands more opportunities to connect with their respective audiences.
Its online communities likewise provide spaces for continued interaction. Platforms such as the BW Lounge on Viber and Messenger allow BusinessWorld to share updates throughout the day while using polls and other interactive content to encourage audiences to participate in the discussion.
The publication’s digital reach is reflected in its social media following. As of September this year, BusinessWorld currently has around 249,000 followers on Facebook, 72,100 on X, 17,600 on Instagram, 10,300 on Threads, 6,530 on YouTube, 3,960 on TikTok, and 224 on BlueSky. Its BW Lounge has 1,494 members, while its broadcast channel on Messenger has 1,300 members.
B-Side’s growing reach
The BusinessWorld B-Side podcast, meanwhile, demonstrates how audio has become another avenue for business journalism.
To date, B-Side has recorded 35,084 all-time plays and downloads, with 1,608 followers and an audience of 12,265. Its audience is composed of 23.8% male and 76.2% female listeners, with 71.4% of listeners 35-44 and 14.3% aged 23-27.
Its reach also extends beyond the Philippines, with listeners from Singapore, Taiwan, the United States, Portugal, India, and Venezuela.
Most listeners access B-Side through web browsers, accounting for 79.5% of consumption, while 14.4% listen through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. The average consumption time is 25 minutes and 48 seconds.
The most-listened-to episode in 2024 and the first half of 2025 is “The sweet rewards of cacao farming in the Philippines,” which recorded 18 hours and 43 minutes of consumption time.
Award-winning series with Converge
The podcast, for Mr. Malapo added, also illustrates the growing recognition of digital platforms among brands that aim to optimize BusinessWorld’s relevance to the business community, citing as an example a B-Side series titled “Where the Digital World Converges: Conversations on Cloud,” a collaboration with Converge Global Business that provides an example of how these digital platforms can also serve as vehicles for more specialized, client-driven content.
The series aims to examine issues surrounding the country’s digital transformation through discussions with industry and government experts.
In its first episode, “Why the Philippines needs an In-Country Cloud Now,” Converge Studios Chief Executive Officer James Mendoza and National Privacy Commission Deputy Commissioner Atty. Jose Belarmino II discussed the importance of keeping data within the Philippines, including questions of data security and the country’s growing need for cloud infrastructure.
The second episode, “Digital Infrastructure as Backbone of Digital Economy,” shifted the discussion toward the infrastructure needed to support the digital economy. Converge Vice-President and Head of Data Center Infrastructure Noriel Ong and Department of Information and Communications Technology Assistant Secretary Christian Guingcangco examined the role of resilient networks and digital infrastructure in supporting economic activity and further digitalization.
The series has been awarded by this year’s World Business Outlook Awards with the Excellence in Digital Brand Communication Philippines distinction. According to Converge, the award acknowledges the company’s commitment to engaging enterprise leaders and technology decision-makers through high-level discussions on cloud adoption, digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies.
Other Collaborations
In addition, B-Side has also collaborated with Acumen Strategy Consultants earlier this year for three episodes discussing the multigenerational workforce, as explored through the management consulting firm’s comprehensive research study, Project Alphabet.
The first episode explored how Filipinos across different generations define success in the workplace, while the second one took a deep dive into how parenting has affected each generation at work. The third episode aptly wrapped up the series with a discussion on how each generation’s definition of leadership was shaped by the environments they entered, the systems they navigated, and the expectations placed on them at work.
B-Side also had an episode in partnership with Sun Life, where Head of Insurance Investments Ivan Corcuera talked about the true value of variable unit-linked (VUL) insurance, how it functions, and when it is best utilized, amid an apparent positioning of VUL primarily as an investment vehicle.
Data, analytics, and AI
As BusinessWorld expands its digital presence, data has become an important guide in determining which platforms, formats, and strategies resonate with its audience. As Mr. Geronia noted, the publication takes a data-driven approach when evaluating its digital initiatives.
“The numbers become our guide in determining what formats and platforms are relevant for delivering our type of content. At the same time, we have to respond to what our readers want by listening to them,” he said.
This approach also opens BusinessWorld to explore artificial intelligence (AI) as a way of extending the value of its existing content and data.
For Mr. Geronia, one possibility is “an AI adviser that gets its knowledge from the vast BusinessWorld content library.”
Mr. Malapo similarly sees AI as part of the broader evolution of BusinessWorld’s digital services.
“Because there’s also a demand for AI—how AI can help us come up with content, how can we develop AI to serve the needs of our advertisers and readers,” he shared.
Mr. Malapo, meanwhile, points out opportunities in research, data analytics, and other new services built around BusinessWorld’s existing information.
“Our content becomes like a bible for our readers, the business community. BusinessWorld can take off from the content and the data themselves and maximize them into another platform or service,” he said.
“As we approach to 40th year, we are already working for BusinessWorld’s future by reinventing and redefining its role in the business community, a future where it will be a reference for economic progress and international recognition. Imagine the innovation of its content that will go along with it,” Mr. Dy Tioco added.
The direction reflects a broader effort to build on BusinessWorld’s existing strengths while exploring new ways of delivering value to readers, clients, and the wider business community.
Looking beyond
BusinessWorld’s digital evolution is ultimately an ongoing process. For Mr. Geronia, the future is about remaining willing to adapt as technology changes.
“BusinessWorld will always be ready to experiment and innovate as platforms continue to evolve,” he shared. “The core content will always be there, but the way it is delivered to the readers and audiences may change.”
The recent redesign of BusinessWorld Online demonstrates how the publication continues to refine its digital platforms in response to changing reader habits. With an updated interface and improved user experience, the website serves as another example of BusinessWorld’s efforts to make its journalism more accessible while adapting to the new ways audiences consume information today.
Ultimately, BusinessWorld’s multiplatform journey is about finding new ways for both print and digital to coexist while maximizing what each medium can offer. The technology, platforms, and formats will continue to evolve. What remains at the center is the content and the responsibility to make that content credible, relevant, useful, and accessible to the audiences BusinessWorld serves.
