The launch of new magazine-style content channels is another step by LinkedIn toward becoming an online media entity with a focus on business news. The social network revamped its LinkedIn Today offering yesterday with a simpler design, the introduction of 20 channels (or categories) of news, multiple options for sorting content, and revised email digests. Users can subscribe to channels and authors who are part of the Influencer program.

“You will start to see a refreshed look on LinkedIn Today and the introduction of channels to make it easier for you to Discover and Share professional news and insights,” writes associate product manager Kevin Gu on the LinkedIn Blog.

“Through channels you can follow broader topic areas that cross multiple industries and professional sectors,” he explains. “By following channels you will have access to timely and relevant professional news and insights that can help you stay one step ahead and be in the know on what’s trending in your professional network.”

The new LinkedIn Today channels include topic areas such as Economy, Entrepreneurship, Marketing Strategies, Healthcare, Technology and Social Media.

“Whether or not this is just another attempt by LinkedIn to make the site more ‘sticky’ and get users to spend more time there, it has the potential to become a real competitor to other news aggregators and providers,” suggests paidContent.

“LinkedIn may not have created a ‘massive media empire’ — as one rather breathless piece posted (on LinkedIn Today, of course) described it — but there is no question the site has media-related ambitions, and it is following through on them,” concludes the article. “And its ability to target specific users based on their interest graph gives it a potentially powerful weapon that other media entities lack.”