Reuters launches new safeguards for initiative journalism
Reuters is instituting a new system of story proposals for initiative journalism. Reporters must tell editors in advance of writing what kinds of sources and statistics or data will be used and whether the story will need to be read for legal reasons or potential risk to the organisation’s reputation.
The new system comes just a week after Reuters was embarrassed by a story that required complex corrections to put right multiple factual errors. The episode became a journalistic talking point and dismayed old editorial hands.
No connection with what was described in-house as a fiasco and a disgrace was made by Paul Ingrassia, deputy editor-in-chief, in a note on Friday announcing the new system. The reason, he said, was to better focus journalists’ time and talent. “It will help the editors ensure that the time you are devoting to enterprising journalism is well spent,” he told staff.
“Reuters is the best real-time news organization in the world – and we intend to solidify our dominance as such,” he said. “Let me reinforce that crucial point: Our commitment to being the world’s best real-time news service isn’t changing. But the world is evolving. Our customers demand more of us than ever before – not only fast, accurate and fair real-time news, but also deep and proprietary insight into the companies, markets, governments, people, trends and ideas shaping our world. That means we need to do more initiative journalism – stories with original findings that wouldn’t see the light of day if we didn’t undertake them for our readers.”
Items that need to be proposed are any story tagged Analysis, Feature and Insight. Brief proposals are to be filed by a reporter’s manager, via e-mail, to regional special top-news distribution lists. The e-mail must explain what the story will say and why it matters.
“Very briefly describe the kinds of sources and stats or data that will be tapped. If the story will need to be read for legal or reputational-risk reasons, briefly flag that in the proposal. Run the idea by your manager. Your manager will vet and file the proposal.” Editors will reply to the e-mail quickly giving the idea a thumbs up or thumbs down and assign an editor who will work with the reporter to deliver the story in good condition, Ingrassia added.
● SOURCE Reuters
The new system comes just a week after Reuters was embarrassed by a story that required complex corrections to put right multiple factual errors. The episode became a journalistic talking point and dismayed old editorial hands.
No connection with what was described in-house as a fiasco and a disgrace was made by Paul Ingrassia, deputy editor-in-chief, in a note on Friday announcing the new system. The reason, he said, was to better focus journalists’ time and talent. “It will help the editors ensure that the time you are devoting to enterprising journalism is well spent,” he told staff.
“Reuters is the best real-time news organization in the world – and we intend to solidify our dominance as such,” he said. “Let me reinforce that crucial point: Our commitment to being the world’s best real-time news service isn’t changing. But the world is evolving. Our customers demand more of us than ever before – not only fast, accurate and fair real-time news, but also deep and proprietary insight into the companies, markets, governments, people, trends and ideas shaping our world. That means we need to do more initiative journalism – stories with original findings that wouldn’t see the light of day if we didn’t undertake them for our readers.”
Items that need to be proposed are any story tagged Analysis, Feature and Insight. Brief proposals are to be filed by a reporter’s manager, via e-mail, to regional special top-news distribution lists. The e-mail must explain what the story will say and why it matters.
“Very briefly describe the kinds of sources and stats or data that will be tapped. If the story will need to be read for legal or reputational-risk reasons, briefly flag that in the proposal. Run the idea by your manager. Your manager will vet and file the proposal.” Editors will reply to the e-mail quickly giving the idea a thumbs up or thumbs down and assign an editor who will work with the reporter to deliver the story in good condition, Ingrassia added.
● SOURCE Reuters
Thomson Reuters holds lead in market data race
Friday 03 February 2012 Thomson Reuters Bloomberg
Thomson Reuters remains ahead of its rival market data providers in the $24.5 billion global financial information business but Bloomberg is catching up despite the downturn in financial markets that has hit their revenues.
Thomson Reuters leads with about $7.6 billion and Bloomberg is next with about $7.3 billion. The two are the market leaders by far with about two-thirds of the total market for financial information, according to a commentary in Forbes magazine.
“If current trends continue with banks cutting staff and spending, 2012 is shaping up to be a tough year in finance,” said Tom Groenfeldt, a writer on finance and technology.
● SOURCE Forbes
Thomson Reuters leads with about $7.6 billion and Bloomberg is next with about $7.3 billion. The two are the market leaders by far with about two-thirds of the total market for financial information, according to a commentary in Forbes magazine.
“If current trends continue with banks cutting staff and spending, 2012 is shaping up to be a tough year in finance,” said Tom Groenfeldt, a writer on finance and technology.
● SOURCE Forbes
Stephen Adler: We respect right to strike
Reuters respects the right of journalists to strike, editor-in-chief Stephen Adler said after the National Union of Journalists called on its members to stop work for two days next week.
“We have been informed by the NUJ that approximately 150 of our staff members are being called upon to strike on Thursday 9 February and Friday 10 February. We regret to hear this and have put in place contingency plans to ensure that Reuters continues to deliver the quality journalism that our customers rely on during this period,” Adler said. “We respect the right of our colleagues to engage in this job action as part of the bargaining process and look forward to welcoming them back to work on their next work day.”
The stoppage is over a below-inflation pay offer. Some 83 per cent of NUJ members at Thomson Reuters voted in favour of strike action. The strike will be the first at Reuters in 25 years. It will start on the day that Thomson Reuters announces its 2011 and Q4 financial results.
● SOURCE The Guardian
“We have been informed by the NUJ that approximately 150 of our staff members are being called upon to strike on Thursday 9 February and Friday 10 February. We regret to hear this and have put in place contingency plans to ensure that Reuters continues to deliver the quality journalism that our customers rely on during this period,” Adler said. “We respect the right of our colleagues to engage in this job action as part of the bargaining process and look forward to welcoming them back to work on their next work day.”
The stoppage is over a below-inflation pay offer. Some 83 per cent of NUJ members at Thomson Reuters voted in favour of strike action. The strike will be the first at Reuters in 25 years. It will start on the day that Thomson Reuters announces its 2011 and Q4 financial results.
● SOURCE The Guardian
UK journalists vote to strike next week
Thursday 02 February 2012 Editorial
Unionised journalists working for Thomson Reuters in Britain voted to strike next week over pay disputes with the group.
The 48-hour stoppage by members of the National Union of Journalists will be on Thursday 9 February and Friday 10 February. It will coincide with the group’s 2011 full year and Q4 earnings announcement due next Thursday.
There was 83 per cent support among NUJ members for industrial action over the union’s disputes with Thomson Reuters arising from its 0.70 per cent pay increase across the board for 2011 and proposed 1.75 per cent this year.
“Thomson Reuters must shoulder the responsibility for this dispute,” said NUJ chapel officers Mike Roddy and Helen Long. “The company ignored repeated warnings that members had reached a tipping point, after years of below inflation pay rises, combined with rising costs, that are pricing many members out of their jobs. Those with families who cannot afford to live in London are especially feeling the pain as they are forced to commute into the capital on the most expensive train lines in Europe.
“We hope management will now listen to its journalists and return to the table with a sensible offer to avert a costly strike.”
NUJ deputy general secretary Barry Fitzpatrick said: “This strike is about fairness. The management is proposing a below-inflation pay deal, while holding back money for a merit scheme. This is just not on. While our members struggle to make ends meet on their wages, the management should be putting all the money into an across the board pay increase.”
● SOURCE Press Gazette
The 48-hour stoppage by members of the National Union of Journalists will be on Thursday 9 February and Friday 10 February. It will coincide with the group’s 2011 full year and Q4 earnings announcement due next Thursday.
There was 83 per cent support among NUJ members for industrial action over the union’s disputes with Thomson Reuters arising from its 0.70 per cent pay increase across the board for 2011 and proposed 1.75 per cent this year.
“Thomson Reuters must shoulder the responsibility for this dispute,” said NUJ chapel officers Mike Roddy and Helen Long. “The company ignored repeated warnings that members had reached a tipping point, after years of below inflation pay rises, combined with rising costs, that are pricing many members out of their jobs. Those with families who cannot afford to live in London are especially feeling the pain as they are forced to commute into the capital on the most expensive train lines in Europe.
“We hope management will now listen to its journalists and return to the table with a sensible offer to avert a costly strike.”
NUJ deputy general secretary Barry Fitzpatrick said: “This strike is about fairness. The management is proposing a below-inflation pay deal, while holding back money for a merit scheme. This is just not on. While our members struggle to make ends meet on their wages, the management should be putting all the money into an across the board pay increase.”
● SOURCE Press Gazette
Bloomberg to open new front in war with Thomson Reuters
Wednesday 01 February 2012 Thomson Reuters Bloomberg
Bloomberg is set to launch a new front in its war with Thomson Reuters by offering a free and open software interface that aims to bypass RICs, the lucrative code for identifying securities on terminals.
The New York-based group has developed a tool that allows financial institutions, rival data vendors and software developers to connect and adapt their increasingly complex trading and data connections through a single source at no cost, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
It also represents part of Bloomberg’s push to build on Thomson Reuters’ long-running dispute with European anti-trust officials into the market access codes.
At the same time the increasing automation of trading is putting pressure on providers of market data terminals to open up their data feeds. The fragmentation of markets into new trading platforms has forced many investors to connect to multiple data feeds, ratcheting up their IT costs. By offering a free interface, Bloomberg is hoping to to provide a tool that allows investors to both cut costs and circumvent its rivals’ market access codes and win market share.
“Bloomberg is a fierce competitor to Thomson Reuters, which two months ago announced that Tom Glocer would stand down as chief executive to be succeeded by Jim Smith, a long-time Thomson executive with a mandate to improve its core financial data product, Eikon, and technology and customer service,” the FT reported. “Burton-Taylor Consulting has estimated that Bloomberg has gained market share on Thomson Reuters in the last four years.”
RICs – Reuters Instrument Codes – are short alphanumeric codes that identify financial instruments and their trading locations, and are used by banks, brokers and other financial institutions to convert information from Thomson Reuters market data feeds.
But they could not be used to translate data from rival market vendors like Bloomberg or Fidessa, a process known as mapping. The European Commission is examining whether customers could be locked into working with Thomson Reuters because rewriting software to replace RICs could be lengthy and costly, the FT said.
“Bloomberg’s move could force Thomson Reuters to further weaken its policy on RICs and push the US data group into hitherto closed markets. ‘We sell market-data services. We want these systems to be easy to use,’ Shawn Edwards, chief technology officer at Bloomberg, told the Financial Times.”
Last month Thomson Reuters proposed to the European Commission that it allow customers to licence additional usage rights for RICs and provide them with information to map RICs to rivals’ codes. The move could make it easier for financial institutions to switch between different data providers and help Thomson Reuters avoid a potential fine.
● SOURCE Financial Times
The New York-based group has developed a tool that allows financial institutions, rival data vendors and software developers to connect and adapt their increasingly complex trading and data connections through a single source at no cost, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
It also represents part of Bloomberg’s push to build on Thomson Reuters’ long-running dispute with European anti-trust officials into the market access codes.
At the same time the increasing automation of trading is putting pressure on providers of market data terminals to open up their data feeds. The fragmentation of markets into new trading platforms has forced many investors to connect to multiple data feeds, ratcheting up their IT costs. By offering a free interface, Bloomberg is hoping to to provide a tool that allows investors to both cut costs and circumvent its rivals’ market access codes and win market share.
“Bloomberg is a fierce competitor to Thomson Reuters, which two months ago announced that Tom Glocer would stand down as chief executive to be succeeded by Jim Smith, a long-time Thomson executive with a mandate to improve its core financial data product, Eikon, and technology and customer service,” the FT reported. “Burton-Taylor Consulting has estimated that Bloomberg has gained market share on Thomson Reuters in the last four years.”
RICs – Reuters Instrument Codes – are short alphanumeric codes that identify financial instruments and their trading locations, and are used by banks, brokers and other financial institutions to convert information from Thomson Reuters market data feeds.
But they could not be used to translate data from rival market vendors like Bloomberg or Fidessa, a process known as mapping. The European Commission is examining whether customers could be locked into working with Thomson Reuters because rewriting software to replace RICs could be lengthy and costly, the FT said.
“Bloomberg’s move could force Thomson Reuters to further weaken its policy on RICs and push the US data group into hitherto closed markets. ‘We sell market-data services. We want these systems to be easy to use,’ Shawn Edwards, chief technology officer at Bloomberg, told the Financial Times.”
Last month Thomson Reuters proposed to the European Commission that it allow customers to licence additional usage rights for RICs and provide them with information to map RICs to rivals’ codes. The move could make it easier for financial institutions to switch between different data providers and help Thomson Reuters avoid a potential fine.
● SOURCE Financial Times
