One media outlet “gets it.”

That’s my conclusion about David Bradley (Atlantic Media owner), who is looking to revitalize the “Atlantic” media brand, and he’s looking to online talent to do it for him.

From Poynter Online - Romenesko :

Atlantic Media owner David G. Bradley wants to recruit a group of uber-experts to form what he calls the Atlantic Society, “where we will find 300 of the smartest human beings across the main intellectual terrains we’re likely to cover and to go out and ask them, would they be essayists for the Atlantic [websites]?” He tells Thomas Heath: “I love the process of creating a culture of great talent. That’s what I do for a living.”

Most traditional media are looking to incorporate online media as adjuncts to their existing properties–about the same way you’d set up a “kid’s table” next to the grownups at holidays.

Bradley (whether from desperation or vision) is looking for online talent to sit at the very core of Atlantic Media, and–in an interesting turn–he’s using his online brand (the cerebral Atlantic magazine) to attract it:

He aims to expand the media company by using Atlantic’s brand for serious journalism as a magnet for online talent.

“Success here is going to turn on our ability to spot and attract talent,” Bradley said. “I’ve always thought that my personal gift is I’m good at spotting gifts in other people. I can see when people are really gifted, and I want to be part of making this a great talent destination.”

Many of my clients suffer from a form of temporal tunnel vision; they don’t see online media channels as the emerging core of their marketing efforts, but a runny-nosed adjunct to their existing efforts.

Where will those clients be five years from now? Ten?

And where will Atlantic Media be five years from now? Recovered from unprofitability and sitting atop the media world?

The new online version of the Algonquin Roundtable?

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