Tag Archives: Thomson Reuters
Reuters editor in chief e-mail on conflict of interest
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Here is the e-mail that Reuters editor in chief David Schlesinger sent out to the staff Monday morning:
A fundamental foundation of our principles is that we avoid conflicts of interest in our reporting and that we are honest and transparent with our readers when those conflicts occur.
Our code on disclosing financial conflicts is set out here:
http://handbook.reuters.com/index.php/Personal_investments_by_Reuters_journalists
It is vital that people read this, understand it and live by it. It forbids journalists from writing about shares they own unless they notify their interest to their manager and from dealing in shares about which they have written recently or intend to write in the near future.
Unfortunately, recently we became aware that an individual had breached this code multiple times, writing commentary about companies in which he had a financial interest and making trades shortly after writing. While we have no evidence the journalist was abusing his position for financial gain, we take such breaches extremely seriously and that journalist resigned with immediate effect during our investigation.
We will place an appropriate disclaimer in the relevant articles in the archive.
Subsequent questioning of Reuters Breakingviews staff revealed several other cases where disclosures to readers or managers could or should have been made; we are updating the archive where appropriate and will continue to investigate these instances.
Our principles and standards apply throughout our organisation and we will investigate and deal appropriately with any and all conflicts we become aware of. We will also review our training around the Handbook and its key provisions to minimise the chance of anything similar occurring in the future.
But it is vital that each and every one of you look to your own market participation to be sure you comply with the spirit and the letter of our rules. This is about our compact with our readers; it is about our individual reputations; and it is about ensuring that Reuters and Thomson Reuters live up to the standards set both by our long, proud history and our Trust Principles.
Reuters columnist resigns after trading in stocks he wrote about
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A columnist at Reuters Breakingviews has resigned after multiple breaches of the Thomson Reuters code of conduct on stock trading, and cases involving other columnists are being investigated, according to a story from the wire service.
The Reuters story states, “‘While we have no evidence the journalist was abusing his position for financial gain, we take such breaches extremely seriously and that journalist resigned with immediate effect during our investigation,’ said Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger in a note to staff on Monday.
“Schlesinger added that several other cases had come to light as a result of questioning Reuters Breakingviews staff where disclosures to readers or managers could or should have been made.
“The investigations continue and none of the journalists involved have been named.
“Schlesinger said the columnist wrote commentary about companies in which he had a financial interest and made trades shortly afterwards.”
Read more here. The Guardian newspaper in London has additional details here, naming the columnist and reporting that some columns have been edited to include a disclaimer.
Here is the e-mail from the fired columnist to Reuters.
How Reuters is changing
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Reuters editor in chief David Schlesinger spoke to journalists and students at the University of Hong Kong on Friday about how journalism is changing, and how Reuters has changed due to the recent economic crisis.
Schlesinger stated, “If we have learned anything from these past two years, it has been that pure facts are not enough.
“Pure facts don’t tell enough of the story; pure facts won’t earn their way.
“The arguments about whether the factual seeds of the financial crisis had been adequately reported are ultimately meaningless. The facts were there. But they weren’t put together in a way that was compelling enough or powerful enough to change the course of events.
“We’ve been drowning in facts, and that deluge continues to threaten.
“How different from October 1851 when Julius Reuter set up his pigeon and telegraph shop, sending out facts to a world starved for them.
“Today, it’s context, connectedness and community that matter.”
Read more here.
Reuters employees asked about sexual orientation
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Reuters employees are miffed that the company has asked for their sexual preferences, according to a posting on the Newspaper Guild of New York’s site.
The site states, “Many Guild members were shocked. Told to choose between identifying themselves as ‘bisexual; heterosexual/straight; homosexual/gay; homosexual/lesbian; or transgender,’ most opted for the last choice, ‘prefer not to say,’ as a matter of principle. Some were so offended they chose not to fill out the survey at all, even if it was supposedly anonymous.
“But the question remains, why ask? Why ask employees to divulge something that’s irrelevant to their work, none of the company’s business and can become a ticking time bomb for discrimination in the future?
“The question was particularly jarring in light of an e-mail sent to all staff from CEO Tom Glocer (the same guy who’s against income inequity, except when it comes to cutting Guild members’ compensation). On October 11, Glocer urged TR employees to ‘speak out against prejudice and discrimination’ after recent anti-gay violence in New York, New Jersey and Belgrade.”
Read more here.
Reuters to roll out online video series
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David Kaplan of PaidContent.org reports that Reuters is getting ready to introduce some online video programming on its Web site.
Kaplan writes, “Plans call for a daily ‘morning show’ that would be aimed at a general business audience, said Keith McAllister, editor and publisher for Reuters’ Consumer Media, in an interview with paidContent. Some of the other series will be personality driven, with Chrystia Freeland, Reuters’ global editor-at-large, and the site’s main financial blogger, Felix Salmon, getting their own shows before the end of the year.
“The plans come after this morning’s debut of what could be a new partnership between Reuters and YouTube. Billed as a live debate on the economy, Freeland interviewed Laura Tyson, a possible replacement for Larry Summers to be President Obama’s top economic advisor, and Glenn Hubbard, who served in President George W. Bush’s administration.
“One of the things Reuters likes about the greater use of video is that it is more apt to draw out commenters, which will help the website develop more regular readers.”
Read more here.
Reuters to put economic debate online
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Reuters will host a two-part, live economic debate on its Web site and on YouTube on Tuesday, and two commentators will also be live blogging their thoughts.
The event is apparently the first of its kind in business journalism.
The debate, which will be held at 8 a.m., will be between Laura Tyson, a candidate to replace Larry Summers to be President Barack Obama’s top economic advisor or to head the new Office of Financial Research, and former chairman of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers; and Glenn Hubbard, who held that same position under President George W. Bush.
After the debate, Reuters editor at large Chrystia Freeland will referee a first-ever live video debate with two of the most influential and widely followed political commentators on YouTube, progressive Cenk Uyger and conservative Lee Doren. Uyger and Doren will be live blogging the Tyson/Hubbard debate on Reuters.com and will then deconstruct the debate on video.
To watch the debate live, go here.
Thomson Reuters Markets CEO discusses new desktop
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CNBC‘s Erin Burnett discussed Thomson Reuters Markets’ new desktop for financial professionals on the air Wednesday with Devin Wenig, CEO of Thomson Reuters Markets.
Reuters, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel win Barlett & Steele awards
by Chris Roush
Reuters received the gold award and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the silver award in the fourth annual Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism announced Monday.
“Diagnosed with Breast Cancer, Dropped by Insurer” by Murray Waas of Reuters received the top gold award of $5,000. A four-month investigation revealed that a giant health insurer had targeted policyholders recently diagnosed with breast cancer for aggressive investigations with the intent to cancel their policies. An exhaustive study of records, hearings and federal data, as well as dozens of interviews with experts, officials and patients led to the story.
“Reuters contrasted the upfront public stance of a health care company and its CEO to the reality behind the scenes, revealing the insidiousness of gate keeping by software,” said the judges. “This investigation led to government pressure and an industry-wide change in the practice of dropping health care coverage for patients after they became sick.”
“Side Effects: Money, Medicine and Patients” by John Fauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel received the silver award of $2,000.
The stories uncovered conflicts of interest that can compromise a doctor’s judgment. An example was a surgeon receiving millions of dollars in royalties annually from a medical device company while serving as editor of a medical journal that published favorable research on the company’s projects.
Read more here.
Big biz media companies are hiring
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Representatives from three of the largest employers of business journalists — Bloomberg, Dow Jones and Reuters — said Saturday morning that they are looking to grow by adding more reporters and editors to their staffs.
“Throughout the entire economic downturn, we have been building and growing,” said Karen Toulon, the New York bureau chief for Bloomberg News. “There is some hiring, but it is very focused.”
Dow Jones Newswires recently hired new staff for an investment banking news product, and its India bureau has expanded “considerably,” said Michelle LaRoche, editor for training and recruiting. “We’re going to needed people who have experience in covering specific business topics,” she said.
Toulon and LaRoche, along with Reuters top news editor Walden Siew, were on a panel Saturday morning at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers conference in New York.
Siew noted that Reuters’ staff has grown from 2,400 in 2006 when he was hired to nearly 3,000 today. Part of the hiring came as a result of the launch of Reuters Insider, the company’s new online video product.
All three newsrooms use a test that gauges a candidate’s writing skills and business knowledge. When asked for copies or examples of their tests, all three declined to give specifics.
“This is not freshman year in college,” said LaRoche. “I’m not going to spoon feed you.”
All three said that a candidate’s age makes no difference in the hiring process, refuting a claim made by someone in the audience that newsrooms are looking to hire younger, cheaper journalists.
“You want to hire intelligence,” said Toulon. “I wouldn’t say we look for youth. We look for intelligence.”
Other factors that help a business journalist land a job include the ability to speak another language, multimedia skills and a history of breaking news, said the panelists.
The cream of the crop
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The Daily Beast has a slide show Monday of the top “economic and business commentators” in the United States.
Here is the list, with some of the comments:
15. Felix Salmon from Reuters. “Most statistically dexterous journalist.”
14. Alan Abelson from Barron’s. “Astute and unvarnished.”
13. Barry Ritholtz from The Big Picture.
12. Holman Jenkins Jr. from The Wall Street Journal.
10. Charles Gasparino from Fox Business Network. “Best business reporter on TV.”
9. Caroline Baum from Bloomberg News.
8. Gretchen Morgenson from the New York Times.
7. James B. Stewart from SmartMoney. “Most levelheaded and dependable.”
6. Michael Lewis from Vanity Fair.
5. David Leonhardt from the New York Times. “agenda-setter.”
4. David Wessel from The Wall Street Journal.
3. Paul Krugman from the New York Times.
2. Martin Wolf from The Financial Times. “Professorial” and “magesterial.”
1. James Grant from Grant’s Interest Rate Observer.