No Comments

Marketwatch columnist also a white nationalist, reports Business Insider

2012
02.09

Joe Weisenthal of Business Insider is reporting that Marketwatch.com columnist Peter Brimelow is also a white nationalist who runs a website that argues against multiculturalism and immigration.

Weisenthal writes that he has reached out to Marketwatch and its parent, Dow Jones & Co., for a response, but has yet to receive one.

Weisenthal writes, “So it’s pretty obvious that Brimelow has too distinct modes: Racial polemicist part of the time, conservative, anodyne investment writer another part of the time.

“And maybe, at some level, it’s not that odd. A lot of what Brimelow writes about for Marketwatch is about what newsletter writers are saying, and the world of newsletters is filled with people who connect investing with dramatic, societal warnings (Hello Ron Paul newsletters!).

“But it’s certainly reasonable to ask Dow Jones whether it is 1) aware of, and 2) comfortable with Brimelow’s views on race and culture in America.”

Read more here.

Category Ethics, Marketwatch |

No Comments

The logic of Thomson Reuters buying the FT

2012
02.09

Michael Wolff writes – in the aftermath of a meeting he had with a Thomson Reuters executive — for The Guardian about how it would be good if Thomson Reuters acquired the Financial Times from Pearson.

Wolff writes, “Of course, there is the FT to consider – and the hopes and ambitions of its parent, Pearson. The best source I know with a view into the high corporate levels of Pearson, whom I call immediately after lunch, demurs: ‘The FT will be sold. But she won’t sell it.’ She being Marjorie Scardino, the present, seemingly-always-embattled CEO, and former newspaper editor, who has repeatedly defended ownership of the FT, even as Pearson has turned ever more into an education company.

“Back to my original source, now settled in at the office: ‘How solid is this?’ After the sinking sensation of realizing that foot may have been put in mouth, the source shuts the office door and says: ‘Solid. Solid. Really. Still at an informal level of conversation …’ – a slight retreat – ‘but in clear discussions.’ In other words, even if true, it could be a business lifetime until an agreement. Still. The logic of a deal can almost be as good as a deal.

“There are four companies that dominate the brand name financial information business: Pearson with the FT, News Corp with the WSJ, and Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters with their myriad assets. The latter two make their money and vast margins in this business. The former make their money in other businesses and maintain a foothold in financial information and news for mostly extra-business reasons. It is certainly true that neither Bloomberg nor Thomson Reuters need a newspaper – and yet it is true, too, that it could change the game were one of them to get a major financial news organ (so much so that each would probably do what is necessary to try to prevent the other from getting one – vastly enhancing the value of both the FT and WSJ). Indeed, while neither Pearson nor News Corp are ever going to turn the FT or WSJ into significant earners, Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters, with their back-end financial information resources, might be able to build a powerful and profitable financial news front end.”

Read more here.

Category Financial Times, Thomson Reuters |

No Comments

Brand building around journalists not new at Forbes

2012
02.09

Lewis Dvorkin, the chief product officer at Forbes, writes how the business magazine’s focus on building brands around its writers is actually an old strategy.

Dvorkin writes, “Our first writer-turned-brand came from Hearst, the big newspaper chain. He was a leading business columnist, author and already a minor celebrity in his own right — he dubbed himself ‘The Humanizer of Business.’ He quickly realized he had more stories and copy in him than his newspaper column had room for.

“So, he went to his employer, seeking its blessing and perhaps even backing for a larger idea — he wanted to start a magazine. His boss endorsed it, but disliked the proposed title and suggested the columnist’s real name would be a better one. That way, his boss told him, the reporter’s newspaper column would promote the magazine and the magazine would promote the newspaper column.

“The journalist: B.C. Forbes, the founder of our company. His boss at Hearst: none other than William Randolph himself, who loved collecting branded columnists, and in retrospect, a godfather of sorts to today’s digital marketing ‘geniuses.’

“FORBES magazine (B.C. wanted to call it Doers and Doings) went on to be a great success in the Roaring 20s. In 1928, Hearst offered B.C. $1 million for it. B.C. turned him down, a decision he likely questioned during the Great Depression, when the magazine nearly failed and his livelihood was dependent on the newspaper column, which he continued to write through World War II.”

Read more here.

Category Forbes |

No Comments

Reuters parent reports loss due to $3 billion charge

2012
02.09

Thomson Reuters, the parent of the Reuters financial news service, reported a fourth-quarter loss after taking a $3 billion charge in its financial services operations, reports Jennifer Saba of Reuters.

Saba writes, “Thomson Reuters’ business has suffered in the wake of the financial crisis, with customers in banking and finance laying off tens of thousands of employees and slashing costs. The global news and information provider’s next generation flagship desktop product, Eikon, has also posted disappointing sales.

“The size of the one-time charge is an indication of the extent of the problems in the financial services business – formerly known as Markets – in the past year, which is reflected in a 30 percent decline in its stock price. It also represents quick recognition of the problems by a largely new management team as it begins its repair effort in financial services.

“Growth has been much stronger in the businesses that cater to legal, tax and accounting firms, formerly known as the Professional division. Professional revenue grew 9 percent in the fourth quarter before currency changes to $1.5 billion, accounting for 42 percent of total revenue.

“Markets, whose products compete with Bloomberg, Factset Research and News Corp’s Dow Jones, posted 2 percent revenue growth before currency changes to $1.85 billion.”

Read more here.

Category Thomson Reuters |

No Comments

Dow Jones has opportunity to create new products

2012
02.09

News Corp., the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, Marketwatch.com, Barron’s and Dow Jones Newswires, reported second quarter earnings on Wednesday, and during the conference call, chief operating officer Chase Carey was asked to comment on the growth potential at that division, Dow Jones & Co.

Carey responded:

This digital world is going to make quality information I think more valuable than ever. We want talk quality information, I mean The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones is the top of the heap. And I think to date, a lot of our focus has been on the journalist consumer product will sustain the other business but I think we really have not taken advantage of the opportunities to develop the broader digital franchises that can be grown out of — and we’ve grown, so I’m not saying they haven’t — the people there have not undertaken initiatives.

But I think there’s a real set of opportunities for us to create products. And I guess you can certainly hit it B2B, B2C. I’m not sure it’s not sort of continuum. I mean in many let’s say it’s a professional individual, a consumer or a business person. And I think that’s sort of what we’re going to create. What we need to create is products but have a continuum from sort of obviously [indiscernible] base and the ability to create products that turn up from that, whether they’re targeted or deeper that take advantage digital technologies.

And in many ways, a little bit like i talked about elsewhere, one of the great benefits we have in building these things is we can take advantage of the digital technological infrastructure that’s been put in place. And we are not building with some of the legacy infrastructures that others may have. I think mostly it’s taking advantage of what we got.

Read the entire transcript here.

Category Dow Jones & Co., Wall Street Journal |

No Comments

Former Reuters editor in chief resigns

2012
02.09

David Schlesinger, who was editor in chief of Reuters before the current editor in chief, Steve Adler, took over in 2010, is leaving the company, reports The Baron, a site that tracks Reuters.

The Baron writes, “After a quarter century, it’s time for something new, he told colleagues on Thursday. He said he had decided to leave in August. He did not say what would come next. ‘I’m planning to stay in Hong Kong for a while.’

“‘It has been a great ride, firstly in editorial and latterly with a tremendous China team – wonderful people, great experiences, amazing stories,’ Schlesinger said.

“Schlesinger, 51, joined Reuters in 1987 as a correspondent in Hong Kong. From 1989 to 1995 he managed Reuters editorial operations in Taiwan, China, and the Greater China region. He was appointed editor-in-chief in January 2007 after a spell as global managing editor. He became chairman, Thomson Reuters China, in February 2011 when Stephen Adler was appointed editor-in-chief.”

Read more here.

Category Job changes, Thomson Reuters |

No Comments

SmartMoney names new copy chief

2012
02.08

SmartMoney editor in chief Jonathan Dahl made the following staff announcement on Wednesday:

Please join me in welcoming Chitra Vemuri as our new copy chief, effective immediately. She will report to Managing Editor Tedra Meyer, and will work with the copy department to uphold our high standards for accuracy and clear writing. She will also devote part of her time to handling some fact-checking assignments, giving her an opportunity to work with more reporters and editors here.

Chitra comes to us with a strong business journalism background and more than 20 years of editorial experience overall. Before joining SmartMoney, Chitra worked as a freelance copyeditor at various publications and websites, including Crain’s New York Business, Popular Mechanics and Health.com. Before that, she was a senior copy editor at Time Inc. Content Solutions , where she copyedited custom-published financial magazines, e-newsletters and websites, including the New York Stock Exchange’s nyse magazine.

She has an M.S. in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.A. in English literature from Stella Maris College in Chennai, India.

Category Job changes, Smart Money Magazine |

No Comments

Forbes executive editor resigns

2012
02.08

Brett Nelson, the executive editor at Forbes, has resigned and will leave the magazine on Friday, a spokeswoman confirmed to Talking Biz News.

He is moving to Tennessee for personal reasons.

Nelson has been with the magazine for 14 years. In 2005, he moved over to Forbes.com to launch a section covering entrepreneurs.

Nelson actually studied mechanical engineering after college. But after two years of working in a machine shop, he switched careers.

In his 14 years at Forbes, he wrote about large corporations, money managers and investment strategies — good and bad.

“For my money, though, the most fascinating subjects are self-made wealth builders,” he wrote on Forbes.com. “Now, as Executive Editor (with an M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business at NYU) overseeing coverage of entrepreneurs and small businesses, I get to share their triumphs and hard-won discoveries with the world.”

Category Forbes, Job changes |

No Comments

Reuters British journalists call off strike

2012
02.08

Thompson Reuters has reached a deal with the National Union of Journalists, who will now call off a two-day strike scheduled to begin tonight at midnight, reports Dylan Byers of Politico.

Byers writes, “‘As you know, the National Union of Journalists had scheduled an industrial action to begin at midnight tonight in London,’ Reuters News editor-in-chief Stephen Adler wrote in an internal email. ‘I was very pleased to hear that we reached an agreement with the NUJ earlier today, approved by the union membership, and have been able to avoid a strike.’

“The strike, which would’ve have been the first at Reuters in over 25 years, was scheduled yesterday after members of the NUJ rejected an offer from parent company Thomson Reuters.

“‘We listened to the NUJ’s concerns and, during extensive negotiations, went back with an improved pay offer,’ Adler writes in the email, obtained by POLITICO. ‘The agreed-upon 3% increase includes a minimum pay raise of 2.5%  and an additional 5% available for merit raises. This is an appreciable increase over 2011’s 1% overall budget.’

“‘I’d like to thank everyone who played a part in resolving this strike,’ he concluded. ‘I’m especially heartened  that everyone involved  worked so hard to reach an agreement that enables us to keep publishing the outstanding journalism our customers rely on in London and around the world.’”

Read more here.

Category Thomson Reuters |

No Comments

Dow Jones Newswires extends Fung’s responsibilities

2012
02.08

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Steve Wisnefski, senior editor of the Americas for Dow Jones Newswires, sent out the following announcement to the staff on Wednesday:

I am pleased to announce that Linda Fung, manager of North American corporate coverage for Dow Jones Newswires, will add commodities and energy to her editorial responsibilities. The expanded role will bring more reporters under a single umbrella, promoting cooperation across asset classes. It also closely aligns Linda’s responsibilities with those of Newswires editors in Singapore and London who oversee a wide range of news across those regions. Linda will work closely with various Wall Street Journal editors to ensure smart coverage for all platforms.

The Resources team that Linda adds to her portfolio comprises about three dozen reporters in New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Houston and elsewhere in the Americas. It covers a wide range of markets, corporate news and data, contributing to Newswires and The Wall Street Journal franchise. Linda, who has held positions that include spot news chief, Chicago bureau chief and deputy managing editor for North American equities in more than two decades with Newswires, will continue to report to me.

Linda will no longer have responsibility for the Newswires spot news group and the NewsPlus team, which, as announced, are being combined with the copy desk and media monitoring desk under the leadership of Michelle LaRoche.

Linda takes over management of the Resources team from Anna Raff, who will move full-time into a role working with the Journal’s Money & Investing team as an editor, helping coordinate the daily “In the Markets” section. Anna’s new role, in which she draws on the markets coverage of reporters throughout the newsroom, is an important step in the ongoing integration of Newswires and the Journal. Anna, who has been working part time with the M&I team since October, joined Dow Jones in 2002 and has served as a Moscow-based correspondent, an energy editor and most recently as head of the Resources team.

Paul Rekoff, who has served as deputy editor on the Resources team since August, will take on responsibility for day-to-day management of the Resources team. He will report to Linda. Paul joined Dow Jones in 1997 and served as deputy managing editor of the copy desk before moving to the Resources group.

Please join me in wishing Linda, Anna and Paul the best as they take on new challenges.

Category Dow Jones & Co., Job changes |

« Older Entries