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Obituary: Vladimir Raitz

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-09-10T18:23:17+01:00

Vladimir Raitz, who has died aged 88, interpreted foreign radio news broadcasts for Reuters in the 1940s but was best known for pioneering the all-inclusive no-frills package holiday in the days of Britain’s post-war austerity and rationing. A Jewish White Russian, he was born in Moscow in 1922. In 1928 he emigrated with his mother, a dentist, to Berlin where her parents had fled, leaving behind his father, a doctor, whom he would never see again. His mother remarried and they moved with her second husband to Warsaw. His stepfather was one of the Polish officers murdered at Katyn. Raitz arrived in London in 1936 speaking Russian, Polish, French and German, but no English. After graduating from the London School of Economics, where he read history, he joined Reuters in 1943 and monitored foreign news broadcasts. He was still working for Reuters when, in 1949, his grandmother died, leaving him £3,000. He left the agency, using his legacy to establish Horizon Holidays with an office in Fleet Street. He had the idea when staying with a baron in Corsica. On Horizon’s first trip to Corsica in 1950 holidaymakers paid £32 10s all-inclusive for a six-hour flight aboard a government-surplus Dakota DC3 to a holiday in the sun with a canvas tent on the beach, "delicious meat-filled meals and as much local wine as [you] could put away". At first he was permitted to carry only teachers and students – other occupations were banned – who could take only £50. Raitz knew he had started a social revolution, not only giving the man in the street holidays abroad but also making him more cosmopolitan, broadening his mind and his palate with a taste for wine and foreign food. In 1970 he invented Club 18-30 which under subsequent ownership became a byword for booze and sex in the sun. Horizon Holidays, battered by the oil price shocks, folded in 1974. Raitz remained one of the principal players in the British tour operating business for 25 years, acquiring Skytours and Riviera Holidays on behalf of the Thomson organisation to form Thomson Holidays. Raitz was always a proud Muscovite with a fondness for vodka and Russian songs, a ready laugh “and a stubborn urge to organise”. He was co-author, with Roger Bray, of Flight to The Sun: the Story of the Holiday Revolution, published in 2001. Raitz died on 31 August. ● SOURCE The Economist | The Daily Telegraph 

Academic data project sends TR shares higher

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-09-08T19:16:30+01:00

Thomson Reuters’ New York shares were up around 1.9 per cent to about $36.90 before easing slightly on Wednesday after the company announced a global institutions and research facilities project. The company said it has collected data on hundreds of such facilities. The result is the Global Institutional Profiles Project, described as "the most advanced data-driven view of globally significant universities and research institutions available". "We've developed a data and analysis system that provides the best informed and most effective resource to build profiles of universities and institutions around the world," said Jonathan Adams, director of research evaluation. "Providing institutions with a rounded profile of their activity allows them to compare themselves with peers rather than global averages. This converts data into truly useful management information." The data will allow universities and research organisations' administrators to change their approach to institutional comparisons. The Times Higher Education weekly magazine is the first to use a customised dataset from the project to produce an improved version of their annual World University Rankings to be published on 16 September. ● SOURCE The Street | Thomson Reuters | Global Institutional Profiles Project 

Thomson Reuters New York shares cross critical 50-day moving average

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-09-03T23:55:12+01:00

Thomson Reuters shares traded in New York have crossed above the critical 50-day moving average of $36.51. The location of a stock price when analyzed against the moving average can aid in predicting future short term momentum, the website Market Intellisearch reported. Trading activity for the shares may indicate that TRI may head higher assuming that the moving average continues upward direction. The volume of shares exchanging hands is less than average daily volume of 1,236,350 of shares. Other relevant figures to examine are the support and resistance levels for TRI. Thomson Reuters settled at $36.61 $0.61 (+1.69%), based on the pivot points, the current support and resistance levels are $36.15 and $36.99 respectively. If the resistance point price is broken in an upward movement, then the bullish trend is likely to continue and vice versa. ● SOURCE Market Intellisearch 

Peter Millar spills the beans on secrets of Berlin

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-08-24T16:25:33+01:00

Former correspondent Peter Millar entertained, informed and amused a near-capacity audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival with a graphic account of living as a foreign journalist in East Germany, James Forrester writes. Quoting excerpts from his highly-regarded book 1989 The Berlin Wall: My Part in its Downfall, he spoke in the Pepper Theatre about the realities of life in a society where surveillance of the individual was the norm, though he did point out that not all was gloom and doom. “Of course, people were poor,” he said. “But there was pretty general acceptance of that because everyone was poor.” One example of the surveillance he endured exposed the attention the Stasi secret police gave to his movements. After the fall of the wall Millar obtained access to his Stasi records which gave details of the watch on the flat where he lived and which also served as the Reuter office. One day’s Stasi report showed that a car with two occupants parked outside the flat at 7 am. An initial complaint that Millar and his wife were late risers was followed by an almost minute by minute account of their activities, including such minute details as that his wife carried a bag when they left the flat, that they went to a store and returned to the flat with packages. The final report was timed at 7 pm when the car left. “This left us free to go to the neighbouring pub for an evening drink without being followed,” Millar said. After the fall of the wall, Reuters had the flat scanned for “bugs” and found 37 microphones buried in the walls. They also found that the adjoining flat was not a residence but a Stasi listening post. East Berlin was the first assignment for Millar after completing Reuters’ graduate training course. He was unmarried and awaiting the arrival of his fiancée, a fact that enabled him to escape the “honey trap” familiar to almost every foreign correspondent in Eastern Europe at that period. “The staff, supplied by the authorities, included a very dishy young blonde cleaner,” he said. “She collared me one day and said: “Your predecessor. We lived together like man and wife.” It was noteworthy, Millar said, that after my fiancée arrived and we married that the enticing blonde was replaced by a considerably older cleaner. Millar refused to name his predecessor but under pressure from the chairman said: “He went on to become head of ITN. You can work it out.” Photo: Peter Millar c1983 ● REVIEW 1989 The Berlin Wall: My Part in its Downfall 

Thomson Reuters tipped to outperform

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-08-23T16:10:29+01:00

Thomson Reuters heads a list of five US publishing industry companies with the best relative performance, the stock analysis website SmarTrend said. The top five with potential to outperform are Thomson Reuters, Valassis Communications, Meredith, Gannett and McGraw-Hill. SmarTrend says its stock analysis software can identify when US shares are beginning a major trend, up or down. ● SOURCE SmarTrend 

Mark Wood to head special-interest publisher in UK

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-08-23T13:46:04+01:00

Mark Wood, former Reuters editor-in-chief, is to run the UK business of Future Publishing, an international special-interest media group. He will take charge of titles including Fast Car, Classic Rock and Guitar World. Wood became a non-executive director at Future in April 2009 but will step down from the board when he takes up his new post as UK chief executive at the end of August. He has held a number of part-time posts since September 2008 when he resigned from ITN, where he had been chief executive for nearly six years. Since 1998 Wood had been chairman of ITN, in which Thomson Reuters has a stake. Wood joined Reuters in 1976 and was a correspondent in Vienna, East Berlin, Moscow and Bonn between 1977 and 1987. He was editor-in-chief from 1989 to 2000 when he took charge of Reuters strategic media investments and alliances as managing director of Reuters Content Partners. Future's biggest-selling magazines include T3, Total Film, Digital Camera, Fast Car, Classic Rock, Guitar World, Official Xbox Magazine, Official Playstation Magazine, Nintendo Power, Maximum PC and MacLife. ● SOURCE The Guardian | Future 

Michael Stott named global top news editor

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-08-19T20:15:44+01:00

Moscow bureau chief Michael Stott has been appointed Reuters’ global top news editor. Based in London, he will be responsible for driving the news editing and publishing of the top global stories each day with effect from October. He will lead regional top news teams which will be the core of Reuters news editing operation. Stott joined Reuters from Cambridge in 1986 as a graduate trainee. His previous roles include bureau chief Mexico and Central America, chief correspondent UK and Ireland and editor, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to moving to Moscow in 2006 to lead coverage of Russia and the CIS republics he spent three years working for sales and divisional operations in London developing the marketing of domestic news services worldwide and driving their revenue growth. ● SOURCE Reuters 

S&P lifts Thomson Reuters outlook on improved performance

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-08-19T21:10:16+01:00

Standard & Poor's lifted its outlook on Thomson Reuters to stable from negative, citing improved operating performance. The ratings agency noted other positive developments including the view that the Reuters integration will be successfully completed next year and that credit ratios will remain in line with S&P's expectations in the medium term. Thomson Reuters' A- rating largely reflects what S&P views as the group’s strong business-risk profile, expanded product portfolio following the $16 billion acquisition of Reuters in 2008 and geographic diversity. In S&P's opinion, the benefits of the integration are partially offset by Thomson Reuters' credit protection measures, which it said are somewhat weak for the ratings, and the sizeable annual dividend, which reduces free cash flow. S&P said it could consider raising the company's ratings if Thomson Reuters was able to demonstrate continued strengthening of its operating performance and credit measures. A downgrade could occur if the group’s performance falls below S&P's expectations or if the company faces significant difficulties completing the Reuters integration. In July Thomson Reuters reported its second-quarter profit fell 8.6 per cent to 35 cents per share from 38 cents a year earlier on lower revenue from its markets division, although the company said it expected total revenue to grow in the current quarter. The stock is up 9.6 per cent this year. The company's next quarterly earnings report is scheduled on 28 October. ● SOURCE Business Week 

Thomson Reuters nominated for two online documentary awards

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-08-16T16:24:35+01:00

Thomson Reuters has been nominated for two multi-media projects as part of the second France 24 - RFI Web Documentary Award. Times of Crisis and Surviving the Tsunami: Stories of Hope will compete against seven other interactive multimedia journalism projects from France and Italy for the €8,000 prize. Times of Crisis comprises an interactive timeline of text, videos and images documenting the 365 days after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Surviving the Tsunami was created by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and combines videos and interactive maps to show the impact of the 2004 disaster. The winner will be announced on 1 September. ● SOURCE Journalism | France24 

Thomson Reuters revises staff social media guidelines

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-08-06T18:49:35+01:00

Thomson Reuters issued revised guidelines for staff use of social media aimed at helping to protect the group's reputation and credibility. Professional use of social media on behalf of the company as well as personal use are covered by the new guidelines. They apply to "employees and contractors who create or contribute to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds or other social media. Whether you use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Yammer, Wikipedia or MySpace – or comment on blogs or online media stories – these guidelines are for you". Adherence to the group's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the Trust Principles are among the basic principles for staff who use social media. "Be accurate, honest and genuine and take responsibility for your mistakes,” staff are told. “A conversational, personal tone often works best – similar to how you'd speak. If you make a mistake, or someone questions a statement or claim you make, it's your responsibility to investigate it. If appropriate, you should quickly correct any mistakes or provide any necessary clarifications." Employees are instructed to respect others in their posts and discussions. “Social media networks and online communications shouldn't be used to attack or insult Thomson Reuters, fellow employees, customers, vendors, contractors, suppliers, competitors or others. “Be sensible. Don't make posts or comments that may be considered defamatory, obscene, libelous, threatening, harassing or embarrassing to others.” Staff must not comment on Thomson Reuters legal matters, stock price, financial performance, competitors, strategy or rumours unless specifically authorised to do so. Incidental personal use of Thomson Reuters computer systems at work may be acceptable under certain circumstances, but excessive use for social media networks, personal blogging or creating other types of online content could result in the company limiting employees’ ability to engage in these activities during work time and/or taking disciplinary action. “If you violate these guidelines, we may require you to correct, edit or remove a post or statement. In addition, violations of these guidelines by employees can result in disciplinary action, including termination of employment.” ● SOURCE Thomson Reuters 

Deutsche Bank downgrades Thomson Reuters

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-08-06T18:06:50+01:00

Deutsche Bank analysts downgraded Thomson Reuters shares to hold from buy, saying that the markets division – which contains the financial and media businesses – continues to struggle. In a research note to investors, the bank kept its $42 price target for the stock. The markets division serves financial services and corporate professionals globally, with Reuters media serving professional and consumer media markets. It delivers critical information, supporting technology and infrastructure to a diverse set of customers. TRI shares trading in New York were down more than two per cent on Friday, hitting $36.78. ● SOURCE American Banking & Marketing News 

Thomson Reuters wins $20.8 million New York tax breaks case

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-08-03T23:53:08+01:00

New York City's Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA) on Tuesday approved Thomson Reuters' application to transfer up to $20.8 million in unused city and state sales tax subsidies from its 3 Times Square headquarters to seven other properties in Manhattan. The application had been opposed by the Newspaper Guild of New York which is in a contract dispute with the company. The previous contract expired in February 2009 and in January 2010 Thomson Reuters declared an impasse in negotiations and imposed new work rules that the union said were aimed at eliminating the Guild as the employees' representative. The union, which represents 420 reporters, editors and technical workers at Thomson Reuters, had sought to persuade city officials to delay the tax breaks until the company explained its job creation record and cleared alleged labor violations. The Industrial Development Agency is the city agency in charge of approving discretionary tax subsidies to local businesses. Under a new NYCIDA deal, Thomson Reuters must increase its base employment commitment from the current 1,800 jobs to 3,744 and grow its overall headcount in the city above 4,210 to access all of the tax breaks. The approval is also contingent upon Thomson Reuters resolving eight outstanding charges of unfair labor practices – some of which deal with the contract negotiations – pending before the National Labor Relations Board, failing which the company would lose the subsidies, a spokeswoman for the city's Economic Development Corporation said. Subsidies totalling $28 million were originally agreed in 1998 for construction of the 3 Times Square tower with Reuters as the anchor tenant. Construction of the 30-storey building on Seventh Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets was completed in 2001. Under the agreement Reuters committed to remain at the location – known as 3XSQ – to 2021, retain its 1,800 employees in the city and add another 2,348 jobs. But the promised jobs did not materialise, leading to Reuters paying back $330,000 and forfeiting $1.7 million in sales tax breaks. Some $20 million in tax credits were not used. At a public hearing last week the Guild's parent union, the Communication Workers of America, argued that Thomson Reuters had failed to meet the standards of good corporate citizenship in its treatment of Guild-represented employees. It said that instead of adding jobs, Thomson Reuters’ track record was cutting jobs, including transferring work to Bangalore and Canada. Thomson Reuters marketing president for the Americas Chris Perry said the new deal was needed to "get the commitment of the merged company to stay in New York City”. He added: "We have several unused facilities that include Stamford, Connecticut, Hauppauge, New York, Nutley, New Jersey, and Jersey City, all of which are available to look at as options." Failure to approve the subsidy "will cause us to re-look at our real estate strategy", Perry said. Chief executive Tom Glocer, in a letter to New York City’s public advocate Bill de Blasio, said the Guild had failed to make a substantive counterproposal after Thomson Reuters made a proposal to reconcile a year ago. He said the Guild “never made a proposal for wages and benefits, two of the core issues of the negotiations,” and that the NYCIDA was not the right department to handle labor disputes. Glocer said the company remained positive and hopeful of reconciliation with the Guild. ● SOURCE Crain's New York Business | IDA Report 

Thomson Reuters Q2 profit falls, sees Q3 revenue growth

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-07-29T14:34:05+01:00

Thomson Reuters reported lower quarterly profit and revenue slightly below Wall Street expectations on Thursday but said sales trends pointed to a return to revenue growth this quarter. The second quarter results show that the group is gradually emerging from the shadow of the financial crisis, which triggered layoffs on Wall Street and cancellations of subscriptions to trading terminals and products for legal professionals, Reuters reported. Underlying operating profit fell 17 per cent in Q2 to $655 million, and adjusted earnings per share fell to 47 cents from 58 cents a year earlier, slightly below analysts’ forecasts. Revenue from ongoing businesses fell two per cent to $3.22 billion. "While our markets are only slowly improving, we have seen accelerating results in terms of revenues, net sales and customer uptake of our new products," chief executive Tom Glocer said in a statement. "Based on these encouraging trends, we expect that Thomson Reuters will return to revenue growth in the third quarter." The company reiterated its forecast that 2010 revenue would be flat to slightly down compared with 2009, and that net sales would strengthen this year. While net sales improved, revenue was still down year-on-year due to the delayed impact of cancelled subscriptions. In the markets division, which serves the financial industry, revenue fell four per cent from the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue from the division was up from the first quarter, excluding adjustments for currency, marking the second consecutive quarter of sequential growth. Revenue rose two per cent in the professional division, which sells databases and other information reservoirs to lawyers, accountants, scientists and healthcare workers. The Reuters news agency business reported a three per cent fall in revenue, but net sales turned positive after it won a contract with CNN. ● SOURCE Reuters | Thomson Reuters press release | Earnings call transcript 

CPJ calls for Thai government action on slain TV cameraman

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-07-29T09:15:38+01:00

Lethal recklessness by security forces and protesters during political unrest in Bangkok led to the death of a Reuters cameraman shot whilst covering the violence, an investigation by the Committee to Protect Journalists has found. Hiro Muramoto, pictured shortly before he was killed, was one of two journalists who died during armed confrontations between security forces and "red shirt" anti-government protesters over nine weeks in April and May. The other was Fabio Polenghi, an Italian freelance photographer. Nine other reporters and photographers were injured. Both sides claimed to have exercised restraint in the clashes, in which at least 90 people were killed and more than 1,800 injured. The Thai government has done little to bring anyone to account, the CPJ said on Thursday. The New York-based journalist safety watchdog said that in several instances troops fired in a random manner into crowds of apparently unarmed demonstrators, frequently in areas where reporters were present. Journalists’ news reports and interviews with CPJ also highlighted the presence of heavily armed, black-clad protesters who fired gunshots and launched grenades at troops deployed in areas where journalists were positioned. "Preliminary government investigations into the violence have been incomplete and opaque, as have the autopsies of the two journalist victims, CPJ has found. Private investigations launched by concerned news organizations, foreign embassies, and family members of the deceased have been obstructed or denied access to key information in the government’s possession. Thus far, no one has been brought to account for the killings and the other critical injuries." The CPJ said a recently completed private investigation commissioned by Reuters has moved more swiftly despite official obstruction, according to people familiar with the situation. Muramoto, 43, based in Tokyo, was shot and killed while covering the first armed clashes on 10 April. "While positioned with the military that evening, Muramoto had captured on film a grenade attack that had killed and severely wounded a number of troops,” the CPJ said. “He was later seen on the side of the protesters, four of whom were photographed by the local Daily News newspaper carrying his limp body away from the frontlines at around 9 p.m. "Reuters’ investigation, which drew on information from two unnamed eyewitnesses, found that Muramoto 'was shot almost certainly by a high velocity bullet fired at street level while standing in a street between Thai troops and red shirt protesters.’ A summary reviewed by CPJ said that Muramoto 'was not shot at close range' and that 'both troops and protesters had high velocity weapons at the time of Hiro’s death and there were casualties on both sides that night'." The CPJ said those findings contradict earlier government suggestions that Muramoto may have been shot from above by a sniper positioned on a nearby rooftop. What remains unclear, however, is which direction the fatal bullet was fired, according to Reuters’ Bangkok bureau chief Jason Szep. "An initial government autopsy revealed only that a bullet fired from a high velocity rifle entered under Muramoto’s right armpit and exited through his back. The veteran reporter most likely died from massive internal bleeding and his pulse had already stopped when he arrived at the hospital, according to Szep,” the CPJ said. "The bullet, which if found would carry important clues in determining whether Muramoto was shot by troops or protesters, has not been recovered – or least not made available for inspection to outside investigators, according to people familiar with the situation. “'Our initial concern was that he was targeted,' Szep said, referring to his bureau’s original fear that Muramoto may have taken footage perceived as sensitive by one side. 'Now, we don’t think he was. All signs point to him being at the wrong place at the wrong time at a very dangerous moment.'" A CPJ source familiar with one private investigation into Muramoto’s death claimed that the government is “dragging its feet” in finalizing the results of its forensic investigation. He noted that a Bangkok Post report published in late April quoted a forensics official saying that Muramoto was most likely killed by a soldier’s bullet. As of July, the government still had not released the full results of the official autopsy. Among a series of recommendations the CPJ called on the government of Thailand to complete the official autopsy and police investigation into the death of Muramoto. Where criminal liability is found, file charges and prosecute the perpetrators. Where military forces acted outside accepted standards, subject the individuals to military discipline. It also urged the government to cooperate with independent investigations probing the circumstances surrounding the killing and wounding of journalists. Where no legal impediments exist, disclose the results of official autopsies and police investigations. Make available all closed circuit television footage and other relevant forensic evidence now in the government's possession. ● SOURCE CPJ 

Obituary: Duncan McWhirter

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-07-23T17:40:26+01:00

Duncan McWhirter, a Winnipeg-born Canadian who worked on Reuters World Desk in London from 1964 to 1968, died in Vancouver on 20 July, aged 75, after a stroke and a succession of complications. In addition to being a journalist of wide experience, McWhirter was a novelist, short-story writer and cartoonist. His cosmopolitan lifestyle took him to continental Europe, North Africa and Latin America between long residential stretches in London’s Islington district and diverse parts of western Canada. Through his mother, Duncan was half Icelandic and Reykjavik featured both on his international itinerary and his fiction. His novels include such Canadian settings as Winnipeg, too, and the rugged northern Ontario region of Thunder Bay, where he spent part of his youth. McWhirter received a rousing educational boost at the University of Toronto. He graduated with an honours degree in English and Modern History after studying under such mentors as Canada’s most provocative historian, Donald Creighton. His news agency career started with stints in 1962-64 at The Canadian Press in Toronto and Montreal. As a CP man myself, I first met him in the latter news cauldron. There I helped him cover an event even rowdier than the Quebec separatist furore of the time – the 1964 invasion of Montreal by The Beatles. We were both left all-shook-up by this searing experience. The adventurous McWhirter, by this time privately crafting an assortment of hard-edge short stories, headed for Swinging London in 1964 and landed a sub-editor’s post at Reuters. His four years there were ones of all-round World Desk service together with enjoyment of the period’s mellow social scene in both Fleet Street and Islington to the north. Islington had yet to descend into gentrification and McWhirter led me, as a visitor from Montreal, on fascinating rounds of the earthy local pub circuit from his raffish Essex Road flat next door to a funeral parlour. Plainly, his environs were a rich and raucous feeding ground for this droll observer’s evolving interest in fiction-writing. Having left Reuters in 1968, he took up globe-trotting along with spells of work as a writer and cartoonist for papers in western Canada. Back in London, he spent time on a smaller news agency and performed journalistic duties for British Columbia’s busy office in the UK capital. It was there that he encountered the legendary leader of the Canadian Pacific province, WAC Bennett, later telling of how the visiting “Wacky” loudly insisted on being addressed as Prime Minister of BC rather than by his official designation as a Premier. By 1979, McWhirter had gone to the Overseas Press Section of the British government’s Central Office of Information, where he stayed until his return to Canada in 1998. He’d met his wife, Jody, in Victoria, BC, in 1976 while doing research on aboriginal Indian land claims for the provincial government – another instance of his versatility and a useful outlet for his university training in historical investigation. It wasn’t till 2000 that Duncan the novelist was published for the first time. Trafford of Victoria issued White Houses, the story of a torturous love relationship that unfolded against backdrops ranging from Morocco and Iceland to the American enclave of Point Roberts, bizarrely located within British Columbia’s territorial spectrum. Evident all through White Houses and two later McWhirter novels published by Trafford – The Paper-Boy and The Girl in the Grass – was a born travel-writer’s skill for evoking weird, far-away settings and a Graham Greene-like gift for magnifying the plight of the forlorn loners who swarm in the modern city’s seedy barrens. One of my most memorable jaunts with Duncan was a trip to the haunting shoreline near Vancouver once inhabited by the English novelist Malcolm Lowry, of Under the Volcano fame. As a poet, Lowry spoke of finding no path forward for the world’s rootless outsiders, there being only “a river in spate/Where drowning forms, downswept, gesticulate.” In recent years, Duncan and Jody lived in a handsome central Vancouver apartment, where he was working on successors to his first three novels when taken to hospital in May. All through our friendship, Dunc often addressed me, with mischievous jocularity, as “Fo”, a legacy from the Montreal days when erratic teletype operators somehow mangled my byline of Cy Fox into Cy Sox, C. Fox, Cy Cox or a nice oriental variant, Cy Fo. I won’t soon forget that unique McWhirter salutation, “Hello, Fo!” Cy Fox ● Duncan McWhirter’s books 

Tom Glocer: Lack of cost of living pension increase 'an important issue'

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-07-19T18:30:15+01:00

Tom Glocer says he is “very sympathetic” to the important issue of pensions and the lack of a cost of living increase in pension payments is an important issue to him, “the company and, of course, Reuters pensioners”. In a letter to Angela Dean, chairman of the Pension Review Group, Thomson Reuters’ chief executive addressed issues raised by Reuters pensioners and other former staff. Dean had raised matters of concern to members of Reuters Pension Fund and Supplementary Pension Scheme in an e-mail to the CEO. “As for the important issue of pensions, I am very sympathetic,” Glocer replied. “As you are aware the current Funding Agreement was reached with the RPF trustees in 2006 pursuant to which Reuters paid off the pension deficit and a mechanism was put in place which allowed discretionary inflationary increases when the Plan is in surplus. Fortunately, increases have been granted each year since 2006 other than January 2009 – when fallout from the global financial crisis on Plan assets did not permit the trustees to approve an increase and January 2010 because RPI was negative. We are committed to continuing to work with the RPF trustees on these issues and look forward to reaching a solution that meets our common desire to secure pensioners’ retirements. “I would like to emphasize that we have the highest regard for our retirees and other alumni in London and around the world, not only as important stakeholders but also for their part in helping to build Thomson Reuters into the global leader it is today. We are currently evaluating options for launching a global alumni program that will support more frequent communication between the company and its alumni and bring current and former employees together in London and our other major centers. It is my sincere hope that this forum, alongside the long-standing Reuters Society, will come to be highly valued by our wider retiree community.” On the matter of the discontinued pensioners’ lunch, last held in London in April 2008, Glocer said “…it feels inappropriate to me to continue pensioners’ lunches in London for only legacy Reuters pensioners when staff all over the world have given service to Thomson Reuters and its constituent companies. We did look at the cost of organizing similar events in the now numerous locations in which we have a large population of retirees; however, this proved too expensive in the current environment…” 

Reuters people named in top 100 media movers and shakers

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-07-19T12:11:15+01:00

Three Reuters people past and present are among this year’s MediaGuardian 100 – defined as the most powerful people in television, radio, newspapers, magazines, digital media, media business, advertising, marketing and PR. They are John Witherow, John Makinson and Ilicco Elia. A panel of experienced media watchers from the worlds of politics, journalism, advertising, television and the internet judged entrants using three criteria: cultural influence, economic clout and political power. ● Witherow, 58, trainee correspondent from 1977 to 1980, is placed at 56 in the top 100. Editor of The Sunday Times since 1994, he is the longest-serving editor in the history of Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire. He joined the paper in 1984 and has been its Focus editor, foreign editor and managing editor (news). ● Makinson, 55, former journalist and a new entry at 76, is chairman and chief executive of Penguin Group. He wants to re-invent publishing for the digital age. "The definition of the book itself is up for grabs," he has said. "The transition from physical to digital is a momentous moment for the industry," said Makinson, who compared the rise of the ebook to the 15th-century invention of the printing press. "The decisions that we take now on behalf of authors will determine the future of publishing." ● Elia, pictured, 39, global head of mobile, Reuters Consumer Media, enters the list at 94. He has pioneered a new relationship between professional journalists and bloggers, sharing technology and incorporating social media techniques into Reuters’ newsgathering operation. He joined the company in 1990 after studying civil engineering and has had a variety of roles including corporate brand manager, head of online experience for Reuters.com and experience manager for Reuters next-generation trading products. Elia oversees a team of product managers in New York, Mumbai and Tokyo and works with development teams in North America, London and China and sales teams in New York and London. He has also worked closely with journalists and bloggers to help them adopt new digital technology and techniques in the field, as well as inviting prominent bloggers and Twitter users to Reuters' social media events such as election news conferences. "You might not know the name but he makes things happen," said The Guardian’s panel. “Ilicco Elia has championed how important it is for traditional journalists to work with bloggers. He sees the blogosphere as a laboratory for the future of mobile journalism – just as the principles of journalism filter through to the bloggers, so their innovative techniques filter back to Reuters.” The MediaGuardian list is topped by Steve Jobs, chairman and chief executive of Apple, displacing Sergey Brin and Larry Page, co-founders of Google, who held first place for the past three years. ● SOURCE The Guardian 

Reuters multi-media show nominated for Emmy

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-07-16T11:45:30+01:00

A Reuters multi-media production has been nominated for an Emmy in the annual awards of the US National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Times of Crisis, a multi-media narrative on the global impact of the financial crisis in the year following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, is up for an award for new approaches to news and documentary programming: current news coverage. Launched in September 2009, it was produced by the same team that was behind Bearing Witness about the war in Iraq which was nominated for an Emmy award last year. Winners are due to be announced at a presentation ceremony in New York on 27 September. Editor-in-chief David Schlesinger won a lifetime achievement Emmy in 2008. ● Times of Crisis | VIDEO ● SOURCE Emmy Online 

NY Guild invokes Bloomberg in TR contract dispute

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-07-12T21:48:37+01:00

Thomson Reuters staff in New York have appealed for help from the city’s mayor Michael Bloomberg, pictured, in their stalled contract negotiations. They want him to block part of a multi-million dollar tax break awarded to Reuters as an incentive to build its new office in Manhattan, now the combined company’s global headquarters. The Newspaper Guild of New York, which represents some Thomson Reuters employees, has recorded a radio spot to be aired on stations WINS and WCBS AM asking listeners to complain to Bloomberg, founder and owner of Thomson Reuters' main rival financial information business. The 30-second spot says: "Media giant Thomson Reuters was supposed to create hundreds of new jobs to get $26 million dollars in New York tax breaks. But now the company is cutting pay and benefits for hundreds of its employees." It asks why a foreign company should get tax breaks in tough times and says voters ought to call the mayor's office to protest. The union says Thomson Reuters has asked New York City’s Independent Development Agency to divert an unspecified, unused portion of the $26 million it received in 1998 to seven leased Manhattan locations. The tax breaks were given to Reuters to persuade it to build its US headquarters at 3 Times Square ten years before the 2008 takeover by Thomson and were intended to spur job creation. The Guild lists ten reasons why the company’s request should be denied. Among those reasons are that the company does not need the money. "Unlike New York City and State right now, Thomson Reuters is a healthy, profitable company." Also, says the union, Reuters has moved hundreds of jobs out of the city to other US and Canadian locations and covers Wall Street from Bangalore, India. Instead of beefing up its New York-based financial reporting team, says the Guild, the company created more than 100 reporting jobs in Bangalore where it has said wages are one-fourth to one-sixth of those in New York. Most of the Bangalore journalists report on US-based companies and, recently, US commodity markets, the Guild said. Guild president Bill O’Meara said the purpose of the tax subsidies was to encourage good employers to stay in New York and provide good jobs for the people who live there. “By cutting the compensation of our members and shipping good jobs out of the city, the company has been anything but a good employer deserving of scarce public resources at this difficult economic time.” Earlier this year the union filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board accusing Thomson Reuters of planning to cut wages of reporters and other employees by an average of 10 per cent this year without Guild consent. Thomson Reuters disputed the figure, saying it was guaranteeing a 0.5 per cent increase for the 400-plus US journalists represented by the union at Reuters News. Some would get bigger raises. The New York Daily News on Monday quoted Thomson Reuters spokeswoman Courtney Dolan saying: “Since October 2008 the Newspaper Guild of NY, which represents approximately 440 employees out of more than 3,700 Thomson Reuters employees in NYC, has refused to put a single, comprehensive offer on the table. As a result, Reuters declared an impasse in January 2010 in accordance with applicable law. Reuters stands behind its position and is committed to moving the organization forward. We look forward to the day when the Guild directs its efforts to returning to the bargaining table with a meaningful counterproposal to our best offer instead of creating misleading videos and radio ads.“ ● SOURCE New York Daily News | Reuters Exposed | AUDIO 

US charges soldier over leaked video of killings in Iraq

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-07-07T12:26:47+01:00

The US military has charged a soldier in connection with the leak of a classified video showing a helicopter attack that killed two Reuters news staff and ten other people in Baghdad. Bradley Manning, 22, faces two criminal counts including allegations he disclosed classified national defence information, exceeded his authorised access to US computers and transferred classified data onto his personal computer, the military said in a statement on Tuesday. The charges were brought under the military code of justice and could result in a trial by court martial. Manning, a US Army specialist, was deployed to Baghdad and was held in pre-trial confinement in Kuwait, US officials said when they announced a month ago that he had been detained. The gunsight video, which shows an attack by an Apache helicopter on a group of men in a square in Baghdad, was made public in April by WikiLeaks, an Internet group that promotes the leaking of information to fight government and corporate corruption. Photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his assistant and driver, Saeed Chmagh, 40, were among those killed in the attack. The leaked video showed an aerial view of men moving through a square in Baghdad. The helicopter opened fire, killing several people and wounding others. A military spokesman said the helicopter crew mistook a camera for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. The video also showed the helicopter opening fire on a van carrying unarmed civilians who tried to help those wounded in the first burst of fire. WikiLeaks said at the time it had obtained the video from military whistleblowers and had been able to view and investigate it after breaking an encryption code. ● SOURCE Reuters 

Kieran Doherty and Dylan Martinez win news photography prizes

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-07-01T11:10:12+01:00

Reuters photographers Kieran Doherty and Dylan Martinez have been honoured in the 2010 Press Photographer’s Year awards. Doherty won first prize in the news category with this picture: A young girl stands with other mourners as the hearses carrying the coffins of five British soldiers are driven through the streets of Wootton Bassett. Lance Sergeant Dave Greenhalgh, Lance Corporal Darren Hicks, Kingsman Sean Dawson, Rifleman Mark Marshall and Sapper Guy Mellors were killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan’s Helmand province earlier in February. 18 February 2009. Martinez won first prize for features with this picture: A dog walker strolls through an earthquake-damaged district of Padang, Indonesia’s West Sumatra province. 7 October 2009. Now in its fifth year, the competition showcases outstanding press photography taken for and use by UK media. It aims to demonstrate that even in an age of rolling television news, Internet and satellite communication, the traditional still image burns the keenest, fastest impression on the public conscience and is the most effective way to show the world the world as it really is. Some 317 photographers based in more than 20 countries throughout Europe, Japan, South Africa, India, Australia and the United States submitted more than 7,000 photographs. Previous winners have included Reuters photographers Nir Elias for photo essay in 2006, Yonathan Weitzman for live news in 2007, and Darren Staples for sports features in 2008. The awards were presented in association with the British Press Photographers’ Association. Winning photographs can be viewed online and will also be exhibited in the Lyttleton foyer of the National Theatre, London, from 10 July to 10 September. ● SOURCE The Press Photographer’s Year | SLIDESHOW 

Expanded digital media roles for Thomson Reuters executives

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-06-30T21:47:08+01:00

Thomson Reuters has promoted two executives to lead a push into digital media. Alisa Bowen, who as global head of consumer publishing had a leading role in the redesign of the ● Reuters.com website and development of mobile applications for the BlackBerry, iPhone and iPad platforms, was made global head of business operations. She joined Reuters in 2001 as a business analyst for media strategy. Keith McAllister, former global editor of Thomson Reuters' online projects, becomes editor and publisher of consumer media. Before joining Reuters in April 2009 he was chief executive of an online syndicator and also worked for CNN where he was senior executive in charge of newsgathering. His new role will consolidate management of Reuters’ editorial and business teams. Christoph Pleitgen, managing director of Reuters news agency, is appointed head of client operations. The appointments follow the creation of a new team of managing editors for five editorial regions. “The new team structure reflects the growth of our news organisation, and the increasing demand we’re seeing from our customers for news and information from emerging markets,” said global managing editor Betty Wong. In the past year Reuters has added columnists with its acquisition of commentary website Breakingviews, invested in enterprise journalism, and launched Reuters Insider, a video service for financial professionals. A key task of the new managing editors will be to ensure Reuters makes the best use of its new investments and technologies while supporting collaboration across the various platforms. The new managing editors, who will report directly to Wong, are: ● Caroline Drees, Middle East editor since late 2008, becomes managing editor, Middle East and Africa in mid-July and will remain based in Dubai. Drees joined Reuters in 1994. On secondment to the Reuters Foundation in 2006/7 she ran a project to help set up Iraq's first independent news agency. ● Sarah Edmonds, continental Europe editor since 2008 and deputy EMEA managing editor, becomes managing editor, Europe in mid-July and will be based in Frankfurt. She was previously bureau chief of the Nordics and Baltics, based in Stockholm. Edmonds began her Reuters career 18 years ago in her native Toronto as a financial markets and telecommunications reporter. ● Saul Hudson, Latin America editor since April 2009, becomes managing editor, Latin America in mid-July and will remain based in Sao Paulo. He previously worked with Reuters for 13 years in The Americas. ● Jack Reerink, global company news editor, becomes managing editor, United States and Canada in September and will remain based in New York. He led coverage of company news and stock markets in the Asia Pacific region from 2002 to 2007 with a short stint as Asia treasury editor. Reerink joined Reuters in 1997. ● Brian Rhoads, Americas managing editor based in New York since September 2008, will move to Hong Kong in July to become managing editor, Asia. Previously, he worked for Reuters in Asia for 12 years, eight of them in China. ● SOURCE Media Bistro | Paid Content | Thomson Reuters 

Thomson Reuters Foundation launches pro bono legal service

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-06-22T22:25:52+01:00

The Thomson Reuters Foundation on Tuesday launched what CEO Tom Glocer called “an ambitious and transformative global service” for lawyers to promote pro bono legal work around the world. TrustLaw provides a free online matching service promoting the practice of pro bono legal work. It will also become the first international information hub on anti-corruption and governance issues. Glocer told staff in an internal message: “Here's how it works: If you are an NGO, a social entrepreneur or even a government in need, you can contact TrustLaw Connect and be put in touch with leading law firms with specialist skills in the area where you need help. They will give you some of the best legal advice available, for free. This is the essence of pro bono – offering a free service for the public good.” TrustLaw creates a new free international marketplace for pro bono projects. “I've spoken to a number of legal managing partners and they are really getting behind TrustLaw as a way to meet their social responsibilities,” Glocer, himself a lawyer, said. “Big name law firms including Freshfields, Clifford Chance and Baker & McKenzie are among some 190 organizations signed up to TrustLaw Connect already.” Glocer said the idea for TrustLaw first came from Thomson Reuters’ own clients. “We asked NGO members of our AlertNet humanitarian website what service they needed most that we could assist them with, and they told us it was legal advice. “Foundation CEO Monique Villa and her team have done an outstanding job in turning this idea into a reality. It adds to the Foundation's excellent work in launching its Emergency Information Service to help the people of Haiti after January's earthquake, and to the long-established program for training journalists in developing countries.” ● SOURCE Thomson Reuters ● TrustLaw 

Thomson Reuters in top 100 US firms for IT professionals

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-06-21T22:37:56+01:00

Thomson Reuters is in the top 100 best places to work in the United States for IT professionals, according to an annual survey. Computerworld magazine placed the company at 56 in its list headed by USAA, a financial services company based in San Antonio, Texas. "Out of all the categories measured, we were recognized for retention and career development," Thomson Reuters said. "Retention measures assessed the frequency of employee satisfaction surveys, turnover rates and promotions, morale and employee satisfaction with flexible hours, job sharing and telecommuting programs. Career development looked at mentoring programs, tuition reimbursement and opportunities for career growth. "We're a 'go to' destination for IT professionals who want to tackle challenges, work with state-of-the art and advanced technologies, drive results and innovation and pursue their passions. And to keep our best and brightest employees engaged, we are working harder to present a clear career path and exploring ways to promote cross-company collaboration.” The survey looks at company information including benefits, rewards, employment statistics including retention, training and development, and the percentage of women and minorities in IT staff and management positions. A random sample of US-based full- and part-time IT staff was also surveyed on topics including satisfaction with training and development. ● SOURCE Thomson Reuters | Computerworld 

CNN drops AP, resumes using Reuters

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-06-21T22:44:45+01:00

CNN dropped The Associated Press on Monday and said it would use more of its own resources to cover breaking news and features, supplemented by Reuters. The Cable News Network’s president Jim Walton, in a memo to staff, said that starting immediately CNN itself would be the "primary source of all content for all of our platforms and services". He said CNN had entered into a new deal with Reuters to supplement its breaking news coverage. A Thomson Reuters spokeswoman confirmed the arrangement, which re-establishes some ties after CNN and Reuters ended a long-term partnership in 2007. CNN's decision to drop AP's pictures, articles and video came after the two organisations failed to reach a new licensing agreement. "It is unfortunate that CNN's viewers will no longer have access to the breaking news and worldwide reporting resources of The Associated Press," AP spokesman Paul Colford said. CNN announced in 2008 that it planned to distribute its own content, its first step in pulling back from its reliance on wire services. Walton said in Monday's memo that CNN is launching an aggregation and distribution service called CNN Share for its editorial content. ● SOURCE Reuters 

Obituary: Thomas Ingham

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-06-20T16:35:53+01:00

Thomas Ingham, who has died of cancer in Thailand, was an information technology linch-pin during a period of exponential growth at Reuters. He joined the company in the early 1970s, along with Dennis Moore, Mike Gharibian and a few others, at the start of a new period in Reuters, Doug Bliss remembers. “Until he joined, only the 4th floor workshop at 85 Fleet Street ran a 24/7 operation. The shifts were expanded and three new groups were formed – Editorial, Communications and Retrievals. Each group was made up of Peripheral Technicians, Computer Technicians and Engineers. Tom was, as to be expected, one of the elite in the new Retrievals group, looking after the Quotes and Monitor systems. Tom was one of the shift leaders at nights and weekends and spent much of the day shifts teaching and helping the up-and-coming young techies, such as me, Bert Plummer, Peter Blake, et al in the new ways of the world. Tom was not the only helpful one, all the new guys were really supportive in our new roles and we have much to thank them for.” Towards the end of the 1970s, the company began to expand exponentially and two new groups were formed, Communications Systems Group and Retrieval Systems Group, the latter under Phil Arnett and Dredge Liversedge. “Both Tom and I joined RSG, and that began a whole new chapter in both our lives,” Bliss said. “Tom was with Phil running major systems upgrades and projects, I was with Dredge on country expansion projects. The first overseas trip I did was with Tom, to visit the Paris Bourse and the Reuters Data Centre. At the end of the first, gruelling day, Tom suggested we find somewhere to eat. Great, I thought, a nice meal in a swanky Parisienne restaurant, just the ticket after a hard day of fact-finding. We ended up in the latest craze to hit Paris – a McDonalds! I haven’t been to one since.” RSG and CSG eventually outgrew their usefulness and were disbanded in 1981. Ingham was a first class engineer and soon after joinging from ICL became a specialist on the Second Generation Slave, which was then Reuters’ new cutting edge quotes system, Ken Pratt recalls. At this time Reuters was also introducing the Reuter Monitor and new communications systems. “It was soon realised by Patrick Mannix that there was a need for a small team of specialist engineers to provide worldwide support for these systems and the operations engineering group was formed. Later I took over this group and it became clear that the members of the group were losing their expertise by not being involved in the systems on a day to day basis. Patrick decided that it would be better to pay the best engineers a retainer to keep up to date on their systems worldwide and to give a commitment to provide support for any data centre within 24 hours. Tom was the obvious choice to support the SGS and was very well respected for his expertise. The group became known as the sandbaggers after a popular TV show of the time. “In true Reuters tradition Tom was totally dependable, great fun socially and very proud to have been part of those pioneering days.” Ingham took over the RA technical liaison role from Doug Bliss in 1985. “Together with Steve Somerville on the management side, Tom became the rock in London on whom we all depended,” said Phil Arnett, former director of product quality. “The Reuters Asia area at the time included the Middle East and the less sophisticated South East Asia markets. The needs were complex and the countries demanding. I cannot remember Tom failing to sort out a problem be it sourcing parts or providing information for generally obstructive PTTs. For the last two years of his career he was mainly based in Hong Kong continuing to provide the support for which we had all been so grateful.” "Tom worked with me in Peter Job's 'Asian Embassy' in London,” Stephen Somerville said. “An engaging character with a huge network of contacts, he was invaluable as chief fixer at Head Office for all Reuters Asia's technical innovations. He turned the job into an art form." After his passing on 27 May, Ingham's body was taken to the Sri Phan Temple in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, where he lay adorned with flowers and two large pictures of him in golfing clothing and sunglasses. A Buddhist ceremony was held and after cremation his wife Ann scattered his ashes on the River Ping, which flows through Chiang Mai. Colleagues of Tom Ingham are to meet at The Old Bell, Fleet Street from 4:30 pm on Thursday 24 June to remember him. 

Volume spike detected as Thomson Reuters shares move higher

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-06-14T22:51:33+01:00

Above average volume of trading in Thomson Reuters shares on Monday may signal a potential turning point, stock analysis website SmarTrend said. The New York shares traded up 1.79 per cent to $37.43 on above average volume of 943,314 compared with average 30-day volume of 357,000 shares. Spikes in volume can validate a breakout or signify a potential turning point, SmarTrend said, adding it will continue to monitor TRI to see if this bullish momentum continues. In Toronto, Thomson Reuters closed at C$38.66, some 75 cents or 1.98 per cent higher. SmarTrend is bullish on Thomson Reuters and on 10 June alerted its subscribers to buy at $36.33, since when the stock has risen more than three per cent. ● SOURCE SmarTrend 

Chairman David Thomson named Canada's richest billionaire

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-06-14T17:52:59+01:00

Thomson Reuters chairman David Thomson is the richest Canadian with net worth of US$19 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Thomson, who turned 53 on Saturday, ranks 20th overall on Forbes’ annual list of billionaires, edging out Michael Bloomberg, founder of the eponymous financial news service and mayor of New York. “Thomson avoids the spotlight despite his substantial media holdings (which includes Reuters, acquired in 2008, national newspaper of record The Toronto Globe and Mail, and Canada’s CTV television network) and his gaudy title (3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet),” the website MarketWatch reported. According to a plan devised decades ago by Thomson Corporation founder Roy Thomson, control of the family fortune passed to David Thomson when his father Kenneth died in June 2006. David Thomson became the 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet, a British peerage, on his 49th birthday. "David, my grandson, will have to take his part in the running of the organisation and David's son, too," Roy Thomson wrote in his 1975 autobiography. "With the fortune that we will leave to them go also responsibilities. These Thomson boys that come after Ken are not going to be able, even if they want to, to shrug off these responsibilities." The Thomson family is the richest in Canada and 20th richest in the world according to Forbes. David Thomson’s son from his first marriage is the designated heir to the family business empire. ● SOURCE MarketWatch 

Foundation hikes funding for Oxford Institute

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-06-11T10:00:47+01:00

Thomson Reuters Foundation has increased its core funding for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, an Oxford University programme. It announced a 19 per cent increase over three years which it said would further strengthen collaboration between academics and practising journalists. The Foundation will give £1.25 million for 2011-2013 to the Institute, which is based in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford. This is an increase of £200,000 over a three year period compared with current funding. "This renewal (of funding) underscores The Thomson Reuters Foundation’s commitment to building the global reputation of The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) at Oxford University as an international centre of excellence for research and debate in journalism," a Foundation news release said. The Institute was established in November 2006 with an initial five-year grant from the Thomson Reuters Foundation, building on the Reuters Journalism Fellowship Programme funded by the Foundation since 1983. The Fellowship Programme remains at the core of the Institute, a globally recognised research centre in the comparative study of journalism which has an international perspective. It provides a forum for scholars from a wide range of disciplines to engage with journalists from around the world. Monique Villa, Foundation chief executive, said: “We are very proud of our long association with Oxford and see our support for the Institute as a critical part of the Foundation's mission to improve the standards of journalism worldwide. At a time of considerable turmoil in the international media industry, the role of the Institute in producing high quality research and as a forum for public debate between practitioners, academics and policymakers is increasingly valuable and important.” ● SOURCE Thomson Reuters Foundation ● Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism 

UK pensioners tell Thomson Reuters they feel they are 'a costly irrelevance'

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-06-03T09:04:21+01:00

Retired UK staff feel they are marginalised and are regarded by Thomson Reuters as a costly irrelevance, pensioners have told chief executive Tom Glocer. The chairman of the Pension Review Group, Angela Dean, was denied an opportunity to ask a question at Thomson Reuters’ annual shareholders meeting; the traditional pensioners’ lunches have been “stealthily axed”; and alumni network meetings seem to have been severely cut back, if not cancelled altogether. Dean, in a letter to Glocer, said: “Reuters UK pensioners have had no cost of living increase for five of the past eight years, resulting in significant erosion of living standards.” She attended the AGM at Canary Wharf, London on 14 May with the intention of putting the following question openly and directly to the Thomson Reuters board: "In the past eight years, because of the iniquitous system of discretionary annual awards – a complete change of practice from the previous 30 years – UK pensioners have suffered a real decrease in the value of their pensions, impacting most severely on those reliant on just a small retirement income from the company. If UK retail price inflation continues at the latest March rate of 4.4 per cent, this deficit could be well into double figures by the time of our next review. “When is Thomson Reuters going to do the decent thing and rescue its British based pensioners from the threat of increasing hardship?" Although the AGM was held in Toronto, UK shareholders had been assured in the meeting notification that there would be a video link. “Just before the start of the meeting, we were informed that there was no interactive link to Toronto, though no reason was given, and we would have to submit any questions in writing, and they would be answered in due course,” Dean said. “The AGM opened with a fleeting acknowledgement to shareholders in London and after that there was no other reference to this invisible group that had made the effort to attend the meeting at 5pm on a Friday. Indeed, one was left with the impression from attending that meeting, of being on the margins; we were a small number of shareholders who were probably only pensioners anyway, who did not warrant the financial outlay of an interactive link, and least of all the courtesy of making those in London feel they were part of the larger meeting and the Thomson Reuters Group.” Dean said she handed in a written copy of the question but as yet has had no reply. “Apart from this affront, I was left with the impression that the London shareholders who took the trouble to attend not only were invisible but non-existent. If my recollection is correct there was just one passing reference at the outset to a presence in London,” she told Glocer. She added: “This kind of treatment does not befit a significant, wealthy international organisation with supposedly altruistic values.” ● Pension Review Group 

Reuters shuffles top editorial team

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-21T22:45:46+01:00

Reuters has appointed a managing editor for multimedia to oversee the development of its television, pictures and graphics units. Mark Thompson, managing editor, Europe, Middle East and Africa, will take up the new post at the end of June. He will remain based in London and report to Chris Cramer, global editor, multimedia. Thompson, pictured, is tasked with providing leadership, managerial oversight and strategic editorial direction of Reuters TV and pictures and their associated units such as graphics. "I am thrilled to ask Mark to partner with me to drive the next phase of our multimedia strategy" Cramer said in an announcement on Friday. "His management experience and journalistic integrity are coupled with a keen appreciation of our client and customer needs." Reuters restructured its multimedia division in February 2009, bringing five global editorial groups – television, pictures, Reuters financial video service, online and agency – under its remit. Earlier this month the division launched Reuters Insider, a business-to-business video news platform. Brian Rhoads, managing editor, The Americas, is appointed to the vacant Asia managing editor’s job formerly held by Adrian Dickson. Rhoads will move to Hong Kong from New York in July to oversee editorial operations of more than 500 journalists across Asia. He will continue to report to Betty Wong, global managing editor. Rhoads became managing editor for the Americas following Wong’s promotion two years ago. A Mandarin speaker, he was previously Beijing-based North Asia editor responsible for China, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong and China bureau chief, Shanghai bureau chief and a senior editor on news production desks in Hong Kong and Singapore. "Brian will take his experience and talent running a complex editorial operation back to his old stomping grounds,” Wong said. “News from the established and emerging markets in Asia is of keen interest to our readers and customers and Brian will help keep Reuters competitive edge there". ● SOURCE Journalism | Web Wire 

Tom Glocer, blogging again, defends lawyers

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-18T23:47:41+01:00

Tom Glocer, criticised for publicly supporting a major Thomson Reuters client under investigation by US authorities for alleged fraud, returned to his blog on Tuesday to argue in defence of lawyers. "For those of you who thought that my recent post on Goldman Sachs was controversial, you will no doubt decide that I have certifiably lost my mind to come to the defense of lawyers. Of all the undeserving species that roam the earth, none is as commonly reviled as Lawyer Americanus," the CEO wrote. Glocer’s original post on 22 April attracted the attention of The New York Times and drew unfavourable comment from more than half the readers who wrote in to his blog as well as from some visitors to this website and the Newspaper Guild of New York (which is in contract dispute with Thomson Reuters). Glocer, a former mergers and acquisitions lawyer who joined Reuters in 1993 as deputy counsel, Reuters America, acknowledged the legal profession is often viewed as loathsome, saying "lawyers are a pain in the ass because life can be a pain in the ass". "Most of the lawyers I know, and I readily admit they include more big firm attorneys, judges, general counsels and law professors, are kind, decent people who were often attracted to the law in the first place by an enhanced sense of fairness or justice, and who will listen and respond to rational argument. There are also a certain number of moral retrobates (sic) who prey on the weak and the innocent and produce nothing of socially-redeeming value while billing at a high hourly rate, but, in my experience, they are generally the exception. "I have tended to keep these thoughts to myself over a career now split about equally between time working as a lawyer and time working as a manager. However, for the last two years I have had the good fortune to be reunited with the law, through the Legal business of Thomson Reuters. We employ so many attorneys to produce and support our services for legal professionals, that we would count among the 20 largest law firms in the US. This has given me not just the excuse, but the obligation, to get back in touch with the people and substance of my professional roots, and this has been both rewarding and enjoyable. "So the next time you feel ready to garrotte ‘the other guy’s’ lawyer, just ask yourself the question whether it is not her principal you should strangle instead, and reflect on whether this highly ritualized form of battle is not preferable to the law of the jungle." ● SOURCE Tom Glocer's blog: In Defense of Lawyers 

Thomson Reuters named Canada's top brand by value

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-17T18:54:22+01:00

Thomson Reuters is the biggest winner in a ranking of Canada’s best brands by value, soaring to first place from nowhere among the top 25 publicly-traded Canadian companies. Consulting firm Interbrand put a brand value of C$9.4 billion on Thomson Reuters, measuring its valuation on the contributions to the bottom line made by the brand alone, discounted in part for the inherent riskiness of the brand's ability to maintain demand for its product or service. Thomson Reuters rocketed straight to first place, leapfrogging all other Canadian companies “by virtue of a merger that has gone almost seamlessly”, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported. Last year's top brand, BlackBerry, was pushed into fourth place, behind Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada. ● SOURCE Globe and Mail 

Expect revenue growth in 2nd half, Tom Glocer tells shareholders

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-14T23:52:02+01:00

Thomson Reuters has weathered the economic storm and expects to return to revenue growth in the second half of this year, CEO Tom Glocer said on Friday. He told shareholders at the group’s annual general meeting in Toronto that Thomson Reuters stood to gain from this year's new products, including software for the financial services industry, tax professionals and lawyers, as well as Reuters Insider, a new Web-based business news television service launched this week. "While many companies had to slash their R&D budgets just to be able to survive the recession, we had the financial strength and determination to keep investing in product development," Glocer said. "... These investments are now beginning to bear fruit and it's very exciting. I strongly believe that the combination of improving market conditions that we see now, new flagship offerings and scalable infrastructure, positions our company very well to grow and deliver shareholder value in 2011 and beyond," he added. In comments after the meeting Glocer said the company was still looking at acquisitions, although he did not predict any deals with more than a $1 billion price tag. “Our history has been to make a number of small to medium-size fold-in acquisitions, and that’ll be true this year as well ... There’s more in the pipeline,” Glocer said. Shareholders voted in favour of a plan to freeze base salaries for Glocer and four other key executives this year, in a so-called “say on pay” resolution. Glocer’s $1.55 million base salary was a small fraction of his total 2009 compensation of $36.6 million, which included performance pay. The company said the results of the vote would be released next week. At last year’s AGM, 17.7 per cent voted against top executives' pay packages. About 53 per cent of the company's stock is owned by Canada’s Thomson family. Asked about an ongoing labour dispute with 420 journalists in New York, Glocer said contract negotiations begun in October 2008 with The Newspaper Guild of New York had reached an impasse. The union has accused the company of trying to impose an illegal pay cut on its members. The company disputes this. Glocer said he was still hopeful the two sides could reach a negotiated settlement but added "we have to be tough on costs". “We are in a very delicate place right now,” Glocer said in response to a question by Lise Lareau of the Canadian Media Guild. “ ... I’m comfortable that legally and ethically the company has acted properly.” ● SOURCE The Canadian Press | The Globe and Mail 

No more pensioners’ lunches - Tom Glocer

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-13T17:40:41+01:00

The pensioners’ lunch, for decades a popular fixture on the calendar for retired Reuterians, is history. The company can no longer justify it and it would be too expensive and unmanageable to extend it to the rest of the group, says chief executive Tom Glocer. Mike Dixon sent an e-mail to Glocer about the lack of a pensioners’ lunch this year. The lunch was originally held in London every year and then cut back to every other year. The last one was held on 28 April 2008, ten days after Thomson completed its takeover of Reuters. More than 600 people attended. The CEO replied to Dixon: “We took the decision (reluctantly for me) not to continue pensioners lunches for only the Reuters part of our company in London. “With 55,000 current staff in locations all over the world, and despite the strong historic ties to London, I felt we could no longer justify only holding these events in London. We did look at the costs of expanding the events to every location where we have a few thousand employees, but this proved too expensive and unmanageable. “I am sorry to be the kill sport here.” Fellow pensioner Roy Langley commented: “Kill Sport or Kill Joy, this was the one occasion when we could get together with old colleagues. It didn't have to be such a grand do, it's not much to ask for the thousands of years of service all the pensioners have given.” 

TRI shares hit 52-week highs in New York and Toronto

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-12T23:47:28+01:00

Thomson Reuters reached 52-week highs on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges, closing up 1.2 per cent at $38.88 on NYSE and 0.76 per cent at C$39.60 on TSX. In New York, TRI shares have risen 7.4 per cent in the past month and 32 per cent in the past year, more than the S&P 500. Of researchers following Thomson Reuters, ten rate the stock buy, 11 hold and two sell. Royal Bank of Canada projects a target of $45, Bank of America expects the stock to climb to $41. ● SOURCE The Street 

Thomson Reuters said to be interested in buying Newsweek

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-11T22:28:19+01:00

Thomson Reuters has expressed interest in buying Newsweek magazine, put up for sale a week ago by The Washington Post Co, The New York Observer reported. "We do not comment on market rumours," a spokeswoman for Thomson Reuters was quoted as saying. Others who may be interested include AllBritton Communications, owner of Politico, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, although a spokesman for the latter said "Not us" when asked about being on the short list, the Observer said. Newsweek editor Jon Meacham also said he would consider trying to pull together an offer with investors. "Of the names that have emerged on the short list so far, Thomson Reuters is the most surprising,” the Observer said. “The company, a huge player in Europe, has only recently stepped up its game in the U.S., and has never before been a contender for a U.S. property with Newsweek's profile. "Last year, when Bloomberg was about to purchase BusinessWeek, Thomson Reuters threw itself into that bidding very late in the game, joining up with ZelnickMedia to make a play for the business weekly. Bloomberg, a rival to Reuters, ultimately bought the magazine.” The Observer said that while Reuters is best known for business media it also has been beefing up its consumer reporting, a buildup that would fit in well with a Newsweek purchase. "The company lets finance blogger Felix Salmon do what he likes, and last year it hired Jim Impoco, from Condé Nast Portfolio and The New York Times before that, to beef up its long-form reporting team. "And what would Thomson Reuters want to do with a magazine like Newsweek? Perhaps the company is just kicking the tires, or maybe there's a plan at work that is more substantive. Last year, Newsweek cut its rate base from 3.1 million to 1.5 million, hoping to serve a far more elite audience. Maybe the people at Thomson Reuters feel like they can have their own version of The Economist. "Staying competitive with Bloomberg, which has a monthly and just added a weekly magazine to its holdings, could be another reason.” Bloomberg told The Times last week that it didn't have interest in the newsweekly, but one person familiar with the Newsweek sale said that it may be reconsidering, especially after Thomson Reuters decided to throw itself into the mix, the Observer said. Bloomberg didn't show interest in BusinessWeek until a week before the deadline approached for bids. ● SOURCE The New York Observer 

Reuters launches Insider - 'YouTube for traders'

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-11T11:45:30+01:00

Thomson Reuters on Tuesday launched an online interactive financial video service, Reuters Insider – dubbed "YouTube for traders". The service, two years in the making, is aimed at half a million financial subscribers who will pay up to $2,000 a month to receive a stream of 3,000 online news clips a week. It will be available on desktops, Blackberries, iPhones and iPads, live or on-demand. Thomson Reuters hopes Insider will shape the future of news. It is part of a $1 billion technology investment at the group, which wants to embed itself more firmly into customers’ daily work and differentiate itself further from Bloomberg and other competitors. About 15 per cent of the content will come from Reuters’ own studios in Hong Kong, London and New York and desktop nodes while the rest will come from media outlets like CNBC, Sky and Forbes, along with content from analysts. “The trend that we are seeing in professional information is not all that different than consumer media,” said Devin Wenig, chief executive for the markets division – essentially the old Reuters business plus Thomson Financial. “People are increasingly visual, and they expect to access information in that way. They want to be able to look at a chief executive and see the expression on the analyst’s face.” The rise of the Internet means that traders today are more familiar with clicking their way through YouTube than memorising codes for using Reuters’ trading screens and information feeds. “You see very different behaviour from a 25-year-old just out of the London School of Economics to a 55-year-old who has been trading for the last 25 years,” said Wenig. “People who grew up with Google have totally different expectations of how to interact with information and media. We can’t ignore that.” “What if this becomes the way people consume news?” Mike Stepanovich, managing editor of Insider, said. “What if all news providers decide to come together to share content and syndicate information?” The idea is to harness Insider’s technology, which allows videos to be searched in real time, to create what he calls a marketplace for news. News organisations that signed up could submit video, pictures and text to the Reuters platform. They would not pay for the exposure, and Reuters would not pay them for their material. Stepanovich agreed with The Times that “once someone aggregates lots of sources ... the value of having a global news organisation [such as Reuters] kind of goes away”. But he added: “If someone’s going to disrupt your business model, it had best be you. This is the future of the agency business.” Financial customers are the priority for Insider but Stepanovich said a consumer-orientated product was being considered under which anyone could access searchable video content from a variety of publishers. As part of the initiative, Reuters is sharing a suite of tools for desktop video production, "even if some of the footage that comes back looks like a hostage video," The New York Times said. It sounds wonderful, and probably will be one day, but the density and relevance of information still need work, The New York Times said. Thomson Reuters says it will iron out glitches as they occur. "It’s not exactly ‘Glee.’ It’s not even ‘Mad Money.’ But it beats downloading and reading the PDF of the latest media research report by a mile,” the newspaper said. "The breadth and depth of Reuters global editorial coverage has allowed us the opportunity to create something truly unique," said David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief. "By leveraging our 2,800 journalists worldwide, Reuters Insider provides our clients with global financial market news and the credibility that accompanies local access and knowledge." Reuters Insider is a key part of Thomson Reuters’ New Era, New Tools programme designed to address the challenges faced by the financial services community. It follows the recent launch of Elektron, a new high speed data distribution network, and will be fully integrated into Eikon, the company's next-generation information desktop offering due to launch later this year. Eikon aims to create a common platform for all of Thomson Reuters’ 200 financial products. It is likely to look and feel more like a conventional web portal and all the group’s 500,000 customers will be moved on to it, replacing 3000Xtra as the flagship product. “We are not going to be the greatest technology company in the world and nor should we be,” said Wenig. “But technology is an enabler. We have to put money into it. We can’t just talk about it. I don’t want to turn us into a consumer company but you ignore at your peril what YouTube and Twitter have done to online behaviour.” Wenig said in a launch message to staff: "As I've said before, we have started down the road of making a number of radical transformations – to our products, our platforms and how we run our business – that will make an enormous difference for our customers. Congratulations to everyone who made today's exciting next step possible." ● SOURCE Thomson Reuters | The Times | The New York Times | Financial Times | Fast Company | Market Watch | Thomson Reuters marketing VIDEO | Thomson Reuters VIDEO 

Thomson Reuters adds tennis to its sponsorships

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-10T20:48:33+01:00

Thomson Reuters has become an official sponsor of Britain's Lawn Tennis Association. An LTA announcement said the company had signed a three-year deal as the LTA's official statistics and information partner. The deal gives Thomson Reuters a strong presence at major LTA events in June and status as the official scoring partner of the AEGON British Tennis Series. Gus Carlson, Thomson Reuters’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the LTA, bringing our world-class global expertise in intelligent information to the exciting world of competitive tennis. Supporting the tennis stars of today and tomorrow, Thomson Reuters is looking forward to further exploring how information and technology can drive elite performance and sporting success” Thomson Reuters also sponsors Formula One motor racing team AT&T Williams and Canadian golf champion Mike Weir. The company says both embody Thomson Reuters' core values: global business collaboration is key; people make the difference; and performance matters. ● SOURCE Lawn Tennis Association 

TRI shares reach 52-week high in Toronto

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-06T20:11:50+01:00

Thomson Reuters shares set a new 52-week high in Toronto on Thursday, reaching C$39.56 before slipping back to close 2.21 per cent higher on the day at C$38.86. TRI.TO’s lowest price on the Toronto Stock Exchange over the past 12 months is C$32.11. Morgan Stanley earlier raised its price target for the stock to C$39 from C$36. In New York, TRI reached $38.11 but closed 0.43 per cent lower at $36.84 after Wall Street suffered a sharp correction over worries about European sovereign debt. On Tuesday, Thomson Reuters reported lower first-quarter profit but reiterated that net sales would strengthen throughout this year and that 2010 revenue would grow again in the second half. ● SOURCE Reuters 

Tom Glocer: I'll carry on blogging

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-05T10:59:29+01:00

Tom Glocer has defended his comment on US fraud charges against Goldman Sachs and said he stands by what he wrote about the case on his blog. He will continue blogging, the Financial Times reported. The chief executive was speaking to the FT in New York on Tuesday where Thomson Reuters presented its 2010 Q1 financial results. The newspaper's reporter noted that the US investment bank was a large client and said Glocer's comments were "a subject of intense scrutiny by journalists at Reuters and elsewhere". "His warning of a 'rush to judgement' by 'our media-driven society' and suggestion that Goldman’s problems may only be the fault of 'a couple of bad apples' angered some Reuters journalists, but Mr Glocer told the FT: 'I stand by whatever I wrote.' "'It’s a personal blog and I write about what interests me,' he said. Nobody at Goldman had asked him to make his remarks, he said. 'I guess the question is: Can the CEO of Thomson Reuters have a blog at all and if so can he ever comment on a client. I’m comfortable with where it is,’” the FT said. Glocer added that he would not censor negative comments on the blog, it said. Behind the scenes the dialogue is getting downright personal over Glocer's defence of Goldman Sachs and also over complaints by former staff of the perceived lacklustre company response to the leaked military footage showing two Reuters people shot dead in Iraq by the US military, said Philip Stone, a former Reuters media executive based in Geneva. Stone wrote a commentary headed "Reuters Old British Guard None Too Enamored With The New Guard Thomson Reuters American Senior Team", on his own blog, Follow the Media, which covers media issues worldwide. "That Glocer would go public defending Goldman Sachs was a break in tradition for the news agency that had been British-operated until Glocer and his American team took over in July 2001, eventually overseeing in 2008 its majority sale to the Canadian Thomson family with his team transferring to the new company," Stone wrote. "The unwritten rule had been that management didn’t comment on news events for fear of perceptions of bias in the editorial reporting of those events. So now questions are publicly asked whether Glocer’s comments will be seen by the news side as a message to go easy with a major client. "In actual fact the opposite is true. If Glocer had been looking for a way to actually tell his news people to hit Goldman Sachs as hard as possible, and then some, he could have found no finer way of doing it than by publicly supporting the Wall Street firm. One thing that has not changed with ownership is ferocious editorial independence and the various corporate governances protecting that independence." It is very doubtful that editorial were best pleased by Glocer’s comments, Stone said, but now that he has spoken so publicly editorial will go overboard to ensure there are no perceptions of its going easy on the story. But statements by the Newspaper Guild of New York and news items by the likes of The New York Times were something that the news organisation didn’t need. "News reputations get built over the years; they can be lost overnight." Commenting on what he called Glocer's quiet diplomacy approach to the US authorities in the case of Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh, Stone said it seems that whereas Glocer does not want “to shout from the rooftop criticising the killing of two Reuters staff because he doesn’t think that would do any good, he does shout from the rooftop about the innocence of a major client, so he thinks Goldman Sachs will benefit from that particular shouting? It’s that very perception that the CEO of a very proud news organization should always, not sometimes, strive to avoid,” Stone wrote. "Many years ago an old Reuters sage once advised a new manager, 'Just because you have the right to do something doesn’t mean that you actually go and do it.' It was good advice then; it’s good advice for even a CEO to remember today." ● SOURCE Financial Times | Tom Glocer’s blog | Follow the Media 

Thomson Reuters Q1 net profit falls 31% to $555 million

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-04T15:10:53+01:00

Thomson Reuters reported lower quarterly profit on Tuesday, reflecting lingering effects of the financial crisis on sales to business and legal clients. The company reiterated that net sales would strengthen this year and that revenue would grow again in the second half. "The tentative recovery in our net sales that we began to see in the second half of 2009 has firmed and accelerated in the first quarter of 2010," chief executive Tom Glocer said in a statement. First-quarter underlying profit was $555 million, down six per cent from $590 million last year. Adjusted earnings per share fell to 36 cents from 40 cents in the same quarter last year, but beat the average analyst forecast of 31 cents. Revenue from ongoing businesses was $3.14 billion. Analysts expected $3.11 billion. Foreign exchange rate movements excluded, revenue fell two per cent. The company stuck to its February forecast, saying net sales would strengthen throughout 2010. It also repeated that this year's revenue would be flat to slightly down and that underlying free cash flow would be down slightly from 2009 as it invests in new products and platforms. Thomson Reuters said it would spend more than $1 billion on new technology and products. Among them is Eikon, a new desktop for financial and trading clients. MARKETS DIVISION ● Revenue was flat in the markets division, which includes the news service and data products for financial industry customers. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, revenue fell four per cent. Markets revenue depends heavily on long-term subscriptions. The financial crisis, which crested in early 2009, triggered massive layoffs and cancellations of trading terminals. While the economy has improved, many of these cancellations have shown up in recent quarterly results. PROFESSIONAL DIVISION ● Revenue rose two per cent in the professional division, which sells databases and other information reservoirs to lawyers, accountants, scientists and healthcare workers. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, this revenue rose one per cent. Many law firms cut staff as they struggled in the recession, and cash-strapped clients sought lower legal bills. Legal revenue slipped three per cent before currency adjustments. ● SOURCE Reuters | Transcript of Thomson Reuters call with analysts 

Abi Sekimitsu named editor, Japan

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-05-04T14:41:13+01:00

Abi Sekimitsu, editor, Bangalore since 2004, has been appointed editor, Japan. Nelson Graves, acting managing editor, Asia and editor, Japan, said the appointment was recognition of the outstanding work she had done growing and managing the Bangalore operation. "It will be great having a native Japanese speaker in the top editorial job in Tokyo. Her move is also an illustration of the kind of career opportunities that our top talent can enjoy and is an inspiration for all of us." Sekimitsu previously worked in New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. In Bangalore, she took over a fledgling, pilot project of a handful of equities reporters, news researchers and polling analysts and built it into one of editorial’s largest operations worldwide. She now oversees 120 staff in a strategic newsroom producing equities news, polls, newsletters and research serving clients in North America, Europe and key emerging markets such as the Gulf, Africa and Latin America. Thomson Reuters employs 6,000 people in Bangalore in activities including data, technology, news, proprietary research, global accounting and customer service. In Tokyo, Sekimitsu will be responsible for editorial operations in Japan and translation desks in Sydney and Toronto. ● SOURCE Reuters 

CEO’s Goldman defence threatens Reuters objectivity - NY Guild

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-28T23:05:14+01:00

Tom Glocer’s defence of Goldman Sachs over Securities and Exchange Commission charges of fraud puts Reuters objectivity at risk, the Newspaper Guild of New York said on Wednesday. It urged editor-in-chief David Schlesinger to reconsider a union suggestion to direct the board of trustees, upholders of the trust principles, to appoint an independent ombudsman to act as an advocate for editorial within the organisation. “Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer shook our venerable media company’s hallowed commitment to objectivity last week when he devoted a blog post to a lengthy defense of besieged Goldman Sachs, a significant client accused by federal regulators of rigging a financial instrument to favor a big customer without informing other investors,” the Guild, which represents unionised employees, said. The chief executive wrote on his ● personal blog: “Perhaps (Goldman) will eventually be found liable of these charges, although I rather doubt it.” What’s wrong with the top officer of a global news and information company exercising his First Amendment rights in a public forum, the Guild asked. “First of all, it tells Reuters reporters and editors who are covering the Goldman story that the boss is on Goldman’s side. In the newspaper business, press barons and their modern-day corporate successors regularly use the editorial pages to express their opinions about controversial issues. But they have firewalls between news and editorial sections that are widely accepted in the business, even if they’re not so well understood by the public. “Not so at TR. Without those historic firewalls, the CEO’s publicly expressed opinion could easily be taken as guidance by the reporting staff on how to cover the Goldman story. Fortunately, U.S.-based reporters and editors working on the Goldman story are Guild-covered, which enables them to chase the story without fear of retribution. But for the unprotected frontline supervisors and middle managers who oversee and direct the Goldman coverage, there’s no telling whether the CEO’s latest blog will prompt them to order up certain stories just because they fit Glocer’s opinions. “Then, there’s public perception. The 160-year reputation of Reuters news as objective and reliable through wars, financial upheavals and natural disasters is one of the reasons clients pay as much as they do for the service and one of the reasons journalists choose to work for Thomson Reuters. Having the CEO take public stands on controversial issues can do nothing but tarnish that hard-earned reputation – and that could threaten sales.” Debby Zabarenko, Washington-based environment correspondent and head of the Guild unit at Thomson Reuters, said: “What happened to the prized principles of maintaining the appearance and the reality of objectivity? Our members and the company’s clients deserve nothing less.” The Guild noted that the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles say, among other things, that “the integrity, independence and freedom from bias of Thomson Reuters shall at all times be fully preserved”. Does Glocer’s defence of Goldman Sachs violate the principles? Former editor-in-chief and general manager Michael Reupke seems to think so, the Guild said. It quoted ● Reupke’s letter to The Baron on Tuesday in which he said “It is quite outrageous … for any executive of Reuters, and now surely equally of Thomson Reuters, to express an opinion on the Goldman Sachs affair. Are the Trustees too sleepy to think of stepping in here? If this had happened in my day I doubt whether he could have survived in his job.” Zabarenko said Glocer’s “extremely inappropriate” comments “could not only tarnish the company’s reputation but that of all Reuters journalists who work hard at being objective. He should disavow his comments immediately.” The Guild urged Schlesinger to reconsider a union suggestion in February that he issue a statement to the staff and to the public asserting that it shall be the company's policy that no high-level Thomson Reuters executive, sales executive or any other non-editorial manager shall interfere with, or even inquire about, any news story or project that is in the works or being contemplated, and direct the Board of Trustees to appoint an independent ombudsman to act as an advocate for editorial within the organisation. “By reporting directly to the Trustees, this Editorial advocate would be unfettered by the chains of command in the corporate structure and could credibly monitor, report on and advise on matters affecting editorial integrity,” it said. ● SOURCE The Newspaper Guild of New York 

The New York Times raises an eyebrow at Tom Glocer's blog

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-26T23:26:58+01:00

Tom Glocer, often praised as one of the few chief executives who writes his own blog, has attracted the attention of The New York Times over his latest posting – a defence of Goldman Sachs in the investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission into its mortgage deals. Glocer's posting is an unusual step for a media executive, the Times said on Monday under the headline Thomson Reuters CEO Has a Sympathetic Ear for Goldman Sachs. The New York-based global investment banking and securities firm, a Thomson Reuters customer, has been criticised for its role in the deals. The SEC has accused Goldman Sachs of fraud relating to the structuring and marketing of a synthetic collateral debt obligation (CDO) offering. "But Mr Glocer – whose firm serves clients in the financial-services industry, and who oversees the Reuters news service – said such criticism wasn't yet merited," the newspaper said in its Media Decoder blog. “It just seems too easy and too politically expedient to jump on this bandwagon,” Glocer wrote. “Perhaps the firm will eventually be found liable of these charges, although I rather doubt it. But what happened to our prized principles of maintaining innocence prior to being proven guilty?” Glocer said “Goldman does not need me to defend them – they have far better lawyers on retainer. But when most of the world is ready to convict and condemn before trial, my sense of fairness suggests we should suspend judgment until the full story emerges.” Among comments posted on Glocer's blog, Dolly wrote: "Your argument is very weak. Did not expect this from you." A Very Loyal TR employee said: "For every job 'right sourced' to India there is a mother or father who worked hard to build Thomson Reuters. The business world could be many things but fair." ● SOURCE The New York Times | Tom Glocer's blog 

Brian Horton, former editor-in-chief, remembered at memorial

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-23T22:30:38+01:00

Family, friends and former colleagues gathered in Fleet Street on Friday to celebrate the life of Reuters’ former editor-in-chief Brian Horton on what would have been his 77th birthday. Horton, who died suddenly at his home in Spain on 25 July 2009, was remembered as outstanding in appearance and intellect. He became editor-in-chief in 1968 at the age of 35 and resigned from Reuters in 1973, going first into the wine business in Spain and then returning to London in 1981 as foreign editor and then managing editor of The Times before returning to Spain in 1986. At Reuters Horton played the leading part in the introduction of a pioneering computerised message storing and switching system that made possible the editing of English-language regional services from one central position, the World Desk, rather than from numerous regional desks. He was also instrumental in the launch of German and French language services. Horton’s son Robert read a message from Mohsin Ali, former diplomatic editor now resident in North Carolina, in which their work together covering East-West summits and international economic and arms control conferences was recalled. Another speaker described Horton, a linguist born in the UK of New Zealand parents, as “not an Englishman abroad but a true European”. Reuters people gathered at St Bride’s Institute to honour his memory included Robert Elphick, Jonathan Fenby, Barry May, Michael Nelson, Manfred Pagel, John Ransom, Peter Smith, Mary Talbot, Bob Taylor and David Ure. ● Obituary 

Reuters shares in £2.5 million insider dealing case

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-22T22:56:31+01:00

Reuters shares traded in the run-up to the 2008 takeover by Thomson were among those involved in a £2.5 million insider dealing investigation, Britain's largest, a London court heard on Thursday. Prosecutors said seven defendants were charged with 13 counts of insider dealing investigated by the Financial Services Agency in an operation codenamed Tabernula, Latin for “little shop”. The seven are accused of using confidential information gleaned from the London printers of Swiss Bank UBS and UK brokerage Cazenove, in a case dubbed Saturn. The FSA is seeking the extradition of an eighth suspect. The prosecution said it had discovered documents that contained evidence the defendants had tried to crack the codes used by the banks to protect their clients’ names using Internet search engines such as Google. The court set 3 May 2011 as the start date for the trial, which could last three to four months. The men face up to seven years in jail if found guilty. ● SOURCE Toronto Star 

Reuters UK website gets 'gorgeous' new look

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-23T08:26:56+01:00

Reuters' UK website has a gorgeous new look, in the words of editor-in-chief David Schlesinger. It follows the design of reuters.com which was re-launched in a new livery of red, white, black and blue in December. Reuters is a news power house with 2,800 journalists in 190 different bureaus dedicated to being the indispensable news source, Schlesinger said in a welcome message. "News has been in our blood for more than a century and a half, but we’ve always been restlessly innovating and always looking to the future. “For Reuters.co.uk, the future is now…We want this to be the world’s best website covering business and finance news, analysis, and opinion. Full stop." The redesign took more than a year to produce. "We’re proud of our new home, and hope you like it. And this is just the beginning. In the coming months, we will continue to roll out new features and functionality,” Schlesinger added. ● SOURCE Reuters 

David Schlesinger: What I want from the Pentagon

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-21T22:54:26+01:00

David Schlesinger on Wednesday demanded justice for journalists killed covering war and called for acknowledgment, transparency and accountability from the Pentagon. The editor-in-chief wrote in The Guardian about a growing furore over a recently leaked video of the deaths of Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh in Iraq three years ago. His article, published under the headline “War journalists have a right to safety”, follows in full: When Wikileaks published the harrowing video of the deaths in Iraq of my colleagues Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his assistant and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40, the world finally had the transparency it should have had about this tragedy. It was impossible for me to watch and not feel outrage and great sorrow – but this is not about trying to tell anyone else what to feel. This is about trying to find out exactly what happened and how to ensure it doesn’t happen again. What I want from the Pentagon – and from all militaries – is simple: Acknowledgment, transparency, accountability. Acknowledgment means both understanding at headquarters and training in the field that journalists have a right to be on the battlefield, and not just those embedded with a military unit. A journalist’s mission is to provide understanding, provide context and provide the reporting that citizens deserve. That mission requires journalists cover the story from multiple angles, including ones that potentially put them in harm’s way. A war prosecuted in darkness is a war without accountability. The journalist’s role is vital for a democracy and it must be acknowledged. Then, there must be acknowledgment that true journalists come in every race, both sexes and a multitude of nationalities. Within Reuters, our 2,800 journalists come from 80 different nationalities. They all have a right to safety. As too many tragic deaths, including those of Namir and Saeed, have proven, soldiers in tense warfare repeatedly mistake cameras and tripods for weapons. They’re not. There must be a way of training soldiers to distinguish the forms. It is imperative to have the consciousness that the shape in the scope might not be a threat. Transparency is vital. This is the honesty for all to learn lessons from what has transpired. Soon after the incident, Reuters editors were shown only one portion of the video. We immediately changed our operating procedures – the first portion of the video made clear that anyone walking with a group of armed people could be considered a target. We immediately made it a rule that our journalists could not even walk near armed groups. However, we were not shown the second part of the video, where the helicopter fired on a van trying to evacuate the wounded. Had we seen it, we could have adjusted our procedures further. Transparency saves lives. We have been trying for more than two and a half years to get this video from the military through formal legal means without success and in fact have an appeal to their last denial of our request still pending; now it transpires that officials who repeatedly told us that what the video contained was important enough for security reasons to withhold it from us, made no efforts to secure it and weren’t even clear where it was. It took a whistleblower to make sure the world had the transparency it needed and deserved. I want the Pentagon to join me in a search for thorough and complete transparency. Finally there is accountability. There are rules of war as there are in peace. The lack of transparency has meant there’s been absence of accountability. Let’s dig behind the video. Let’s fully understand the rules the military were operating under. Let’s have a complete picture of what was going through the fliers’ minds. Let’s hear the Pentagon explain its interpretation of the rules of engagement and the Geneva Convention and how the actions either did or did not accord with them in its view. And importantly, let’s keep in mind that while we focus on this particular tragedy, it is the rare circumstance that when a journalist is injured or killed in a conflict area, there is a video of the death, and even more rare as this case demonstrates, for the public to see such a video. And then let’s have the debate. Seeing the hundreds of articles and thousands of comments in the wake of the video’s release, it’s clear that people on every side of the issue have strong feelings. Let’s have a debate based on fact and not on emotion. Acceptance, transparency and accountability – these add up to true justice. And that, in the end, is what I am after. I want justice for the journalists who lost their lives. Justice is not vengeance. Justice is about holding all to account to make sure that proper lessons are learned, that mistakes aren’t repeated and that tragedies don’t happen again. ● SOURCE The Guardian | Reuters Editors 

Reuters to relaunch UK website, may charge for some content

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-21T20:25:27+01:00

Reuters is to relaunch its ● UK website this week and has hinted it may charge for some content, Media Week reported. The revamp will mirror the controversial re-design of Reuters ● US website, which drew a largely unfavourable reception from visitors when it was unveiled at the end of last year. Tim Faircliff, general manager of UK digital business, told Media Week the re-designed site would boast a cleaner and more "impactful" look. The site, and its news, will remain free to access but Faircliff said: "We think it's sensible that you can pay for niche, high-value content." Content which could be considered high-value includes its healthcare data and tax and accounting data but the company has yet to make a decision on such a strategy. The US site, re-launched in December, features a bolder, red and white logo at the top of a less-cluttered home page and a slimmed-down toolbar. The company said it was more than a facelift and reflected all the assets that were brought together with Thomson’s acquisition of Reuters. But the new design was unpopular with many visitors. Screenshots of the existing UK site and the new US site are shown below. ● SOURCE Media Week 

Thomson Reuters launches high-speed global network

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-20T08:06:15+01:00

Thomson Reuters launched a global, high-speed network on Tuesday for financial firms to access real-time data as well as share information with each other directly. The new network, called Elektron, includes hosting centres in New York, Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Singapore, with more to come in Hong Kong, India and Brazil later in the year, all connected by a fibre optic ring. As trading decisions are made increasingly by computers, the difficulty has been to execute ideas at high speed that require trades in multiple markets, said Jon Robson, Thomson Reuters’ president of enterprise. "This provides the infrastructure, technology and connections to different markets so that trades can happen quickly," he said. Elektron will provide any Thomson Reuters client of any size equal access to high-frequency markets, Robson said. It will also serve as a neutral distribution platform for participants to exchange research, prices, business ideas or transactions. Thomson Reuters plans to migrate all of its content to Elektron over time as well as use its greater bandwidth to add deeper levels of market information, Robson said. Larry Tabb, chief executive of research and consultancy firm TABB Group, said the Elektron system changes the whole paradigm of how people receive and deliver information. "It allows people to communicate more seamlessly, who would otherwise have to rely on slower channels or somebody remembering who gets what," he added. ● SOURCE Reuters 

Thomson Reuters reveals long-term targets

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-19T16:01:26+01:00

Thomson Reuters on Monday revealed long-term targets for mid-to-high single digit revenue growth rates, operating profit margins in the mid-20 per cent range, and free cash flow in excess of $3 billion. "The severity and duration of the 'Great Recession' of 2009 has meant that it will take us a little longer to reach these goals, but they appear no less achievable to us," the company said in its latest annual report. A joint message to shareholders from chairman David Thomson and chief executive Tom Glocer said that despite the most challenging economic conditions they had seen in their business careers the company delivered resilient operating and financial performance in 2009. "We would characterise our results as being excellent on a relative basis and acceptable, but far short of what we believe Thomson Reuters has the potential to achieve, on an absolute basis." They said they were very proud that while they had worked hard to reduce costs and realise savings through the integration of the acquired Reuters businesses, they had been able to continue and, in fact, increase investment in strategic new product platforms and in the international expansion of the business. “We are well ahead of plan in the integration of Reuters, and by year-end 2009 we had achieved combined run-rate savings of $1.1 billion from our integration and legacy savings programs. We now expect to achieve some 2.5 times greater savings from the Reuters integration ($1.2 billion) than originally forecast." The Reuters integration had also continued to outpace expectations in terms of bringing new content, technology and services to customers, combining the best elements of the cultures of the legacy organisations, and providing new opportunities for Thomson Reuters’ 55,000 employees. This year, Thomson Reuters could continue and accelerate the process of taking its businesses global – especially to tap higher growth rates in rapidly developing economies, and add other market sectors where professionals need its special combination of must-have content and technology to do their jobs. "In 2010, we are following both of these paths to restart growth in our businesses that have been hardest hit by the global recession and accelerate growth in our units that have continued to grow right through the crisis… "Over the longer term, we believe that our business can achieve mid-to-high single digit revenue growth rates, operating profit margins in the mid-20% range, and free cash flow in excess of $3 billion. The severity and duration of the 'Great Recession' of 2009 has meant that it will take us a little longer to reach these goals, but they appear no less achievable to us." The report is in a new multimedia format – an online mix of video, text, pictures and animated graphics. "Going digital has made us a much greener company," Glocer said in a video message. "No trees were chopped down in the making of this annual report, unless fossil fuel was consumed in delivering it to you." Thomson Reuters shareholders annual general meeting is to be held in Toronto on 14 May. ● CLICK to view Thomson Reuters 2009 annual report 

Funeral of Hiroyuki Muramoto

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-18T13:51:55+01:00

Reuters cameraman Hiroyuki Muramoto, killed in bloody clashes in Bangkok, was cremated in Tokyo on Sunday after a service attended by about 500 family members, friends and colleagues. "We never want such a tragedy to occur again," editor-in-chief David Schlesinger said at the service, pictured, adding that seven minutes of video recorded before Muramoto was shot in the chest on 10 April had shown his sense of mission. In Facebook postings, Schlesinger said it was an extraordinary funeral – “the Reuters family was never more in evidence as friends and colleagues from around the world gathered with his family”. A wake on Saturday evening was “sad, dignified, special”, he said. A compilation of news footage shot by Muramoto during his 15-year Reuters career was screened at the service. ● SOURCE MSN News/Agence France-Presse 

Reuters boycotts Cannes film festival launch

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-14T20:50:48+01:00

Reuters is to boycott Thursday's press launch of the Cannes film festival in a dispute over restrictions to media coverage. Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Getty Images have agreed to boycott the launch, considered critical to gaining worldwide profile for the event as the film line-up is revealed. Hundreds of media clients rely on feeds from the agencies. News agencies are protesting against restrictions on coverage, access and usage of video linked to a contract between the Cannes film festival and French broadcaster Canal Plus and pay-TV service Orange. "Reuters will not cover the Cannes press conference tomorrow because of the unfair restrictions being placed on coverage," said Christoph Pleitgen, global head of news agency for Thomson Reuters, pictured. "We invite the rights holders and organisers to clearly spell out the suggested terms and look forward to a constructive discussion." The festival runs from 12 to 23 May. The news agencies have told clients they may be forced to suspend their presence at the festival altogether if agreement cannot be reached. ● SOURCE The Guardian 

Thomson Reuters turns to web for major product revamp

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-14T15:36:12+01:00

Thomson Reuters is overhauling its markets division in the biggest technological change since the 2008 merger. A series of launches will bring together products from the former Reuters and Thomson Financial for the first time into two simplified platforms – one aimed at enterprises such as large banks, the other at individual users such as small hedge funds. It amounts to a radical change for both parts of the business. The web-based platforms will replace traditional terminal commands with Internet-style online search. They are part of a drive to cater to “the 23-year-old at Goldman Sachs who grew up with Google”, said Devin Wenig, markets chief executive, pictured. They also aim to distinguish Thomson Reuters from Bloomberg and its one-size-fits-all terminals. Thomson Reuters had to “radically slim the company down”, Wenig told the Financial Times. This would not be by cutting jobs – it plans to increase headcount quite a lot this year – but by reorganising its sales and support staff so that “everybody in the company is going to be working on one of these two platforms”. Since the financial crisis began, big banks had consolidated, mid-sized customers struggled, but a long tail of smaller customers had grown, Wenig said. To cater for smaller clients cost-effectively, online training and customer support would be introduced. The enterprise platform will launch next week and claims to offer faster delivery of data to clients, many of whom will be able to locate Thomson Reuters servers alongside their own to reduce delays, as Bloomberg does. Wenig said the group would not change its pricing, but enterprise clients would find the platform cheaper to run. Next month Thomson Reuters will make Insider, an online video platform it has been testing since last year, available to all its customers. In addition to the company’s own media staff, Insider will allow outsiders such as brokerages to offer videos of their analysts. In the autumn a desktop platform called Eikon will offer a wider range of data, greater personalisation, and improved risk management, collaboration and emerging markets features. “The industry is in a hugely different place from where it was in April 2008, and we think a lot of the changes are permanent and structural,” Wenig said. “Big banks are disappearing but we’ve created 1,000 new accounts in ... six months.” ● SOURCE Financial Times 

Pentagon chief hits back over leaked attack video

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-13T23:03:44+01:00

US defence secretary Robert Gates criticised the Internet group WikiLeaks on Tuesday for releasing a video showing a helicopter attack that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff, in Baghdad. Gates, who said on Sunday that the video was painful to see, said today there was no context explaining the situation. "These people can put out anything they want, and they're never held accountable for it. There's no before and there's no after." The Reuters people killed in the attack were photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his assistant and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40. Images in the US Army Apache helicopter gunsight video of the 12 July 2007 attack and recorded crew conversation have caused shock since its release on 5 April. Some international law and human rights experts say the crew may have acted illegally. The US military said an investigation shortly after the incident found American forces were unaware of the presence of news staff and thought they were engaging armed insurgents, mistaking a camera for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Referring to civilian casualties, Gates said "We take these things seriously". WikiLeaks promotes leaks to fight government and corporate corruption. It said it obtained the encrypted video from military whistleblowers. The website disputed Gates' contention the video failed to provide context. In an e-mail, it accused the US military of making "numerous false or misleading statements," including the contention there was an active firefight between US forces and those killed. "Classified records which we will shortly release show that there was a report of small arms fire at 9:50 a.m., somewhere in the suburb of New Baghdad, shooter and location UNIDENTIFIED. There is no reference to U.S. forces having been hit by the fire. The same records report that at 10:18, 28 minutes later, the crowd was seen and the killing commenced." ● SOURCE Reuters 

Thomson Reuters shares cut by Morgan Stanley

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-12T23:25:52+01:00

Thomson Reuters shares were cut to equalweight from overweight by Morgan Stanley. The broker cut its rating on the group’s extra investment plans and a still sluggish legal market. TRI was unchanged on NYSE at $36.21. In Toronto, TRI.TO fell 1.04 per cent to C$36.29. ● SOURCE The Wall Street Journal 

Newsrooms fall silent in honour of slain cameraman

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-12T17:19:12+01:00

Reuters newsrooms around the world fell silent on Monday as journalists stood by their desks and observed a minute's silence in memory of cameraman Hiroyuki Muramoto who was killed during violent clashes in Bangkok on Saturday. Based in Tokyo, he had arrived in Thailand on Thursday. He was shot in the chest while covering clashes in the Thai capital between anti-government "red shirt" protesters and security forces. ... The picture shows him working on Saturday only hours before he was shot. Muramoto, 43, had worked for Reuters since 1992, first as a freelance cameraman before becoming a full-time employee in 1995. His wife Emiko and other family members arrived in Bangkok late on Sunday night and on Monday were taken to the hospital where Muramoto's body lies. A note written by her during the flight from Tokyo was read by a Reuters colleague on her behalf. It said: "It is a great shame that Muramoto could not come home with his usual smile. It happened all of a sudden, and I am at a loss as to what to do. In the eyes of our family, he was the best husband and father.” Editor-in-chief David Schlesinger, in a message to staff, linked the death of Muramoto to the newly leaked video of the 2007 deaths of Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh in Iraq and said he was devastated. Japan bureau chief Rodney Joyce told staff: "This is a time to support each other and grieve. Our thoughts are with Hiro and his family. Yes, there are many questions and efforts are being made to answer them. ...Muramoto’s camera was returned to Reuters by the protesters. Seven minutes of footage shot by him show how a scrappy street protest turned lethal. The footage starts behind army lines, with soldiers framed by the Democracy Monument, scene of Bangkok's worst street violence in 1992 near the Phan Fah Bridge in the city's old quarter. Soldiers in full riot gear are standing with their rifles pointing in the air. ... One soldier glances at Muramoto twice in a nervous but non-threatening way. Then an explosion just yards in front of where Muramoto is standing sends at least four soldiers to the ground in a spray of sparks and smoke. ... Another television cameraman runs frantically into Muramoto and past him. Soldiers carrying riot shields jostle into him as they, too, get away. ...The camera focuses on a soldier lying on the ground with a bloody wound to the neck. ... In the next frame, troops drag a soldier, obviously in pain, by the arms, his rifle scuffling along the road alongside him. ... The camera focuses on a trail of blood on the tarmac that shines in the street lights under the banners celebrating this week's Songkran festival, one of the happiest holidays in the Thai calendar. The soldiers retreat and suddenly the camera angle changes to show the red shirt ranks. Most are carrying sticks and some are wielding shields apparently taken from the soldiers. Many are waving, beckoning someone from behind the camera. Some are frantically talking to soldiers, others are throwing objects in the air, one of which catches bunting overhead and falls harmlessly to the ground. No one in sight is paying any attention to the camera, which keeps rolling. But it is around this point, at an intersection, that TV footage from other sources show gunmen on the run, dressed not in red shirts or green army fatigues, but in black and dark civilian clothes. The Thai government has talked of a "third force" involved in the protests and has promised to investigate the circumstances surrounding Muramoto's death. Muramoto was active in charity projects and in 2008 and 2009 participated in an event that entails walking 100 kilometres of mountain trails in two days in areas surrounding Mount Fuji to raise money for impoverished communities in Africa. He had planned to return to Japan on 22 April to take part in this year's event due to begin the following day. The entire Thomson Reuters group is to observe a minute's silence on Tuesday. Schlesinger, in his e-mail, said Muramoto died for the story. "That is not a price we ever want to pay. "There is no more important cause for us as a company and for us as professionals than journalistic safety. "To have Hiro die just after we watched on the newly leaked video the 2007 deaths of our colleagues Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh is devastating to me; I’m sure most of you feel similar emotions. "We know that covering the story forces us to rush towards danger when others rush away. We know that death can come from anywhere. We know how dangerous the places we cover are. "Yet, we’re never prepared for the dreadful reality when a colleague loses his life. ..."If death is caused by military action, then we must work tirelessly to influence the generals and the civilians who command them to recognise the vital work journalists do, to provide full investigations and transparency whenever tragedies occur, and to enable true justice and accountability. "If death occurs in the midst of chaotic rioting, then we must strive to review our procedures and training again to make sure we are doing absolutely everything we can to make the dangerous work safe. "Our mission as journalists is to tell the story. "Our mission as a company is to make sure our journalists can tell that story safely. "This is a time of great sadness. But it is also a time of great resolve to redouble our efforts for journalist safety throughout the world." ...

Attack video painful to watch, Pentagon chief admits

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-11T18:43:32+01:00

Video showing US Army helicopters killing two Reuters news staff and 10 other people is painful to watch but a military investigation into the attack was very thorough, US defence secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday. "It's unfortunate. It's clearly not helpful. But by the same token, I think – think it should not have any lasting consequences," Gates said. The US forces involved were in combat and were operating in split-second situations, he said in Washington on the ABC News television programme This Week. The Reuters people killed in the 12 July 2007 attack were photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his assistant and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40. The graphic helicopter gunsight video of the attack has been viewed around the world on the Internet since its release on Monday by WikiLeaks, a website which promotes leaks to fight government and corporate corruption. WikiLeaks said it obtained the encrypted video from military whistleblowers. Some international law and human rights experts say the Apache helicopter crew may have acted illegally. Many have been shocked by the images and some of the fliers' comments on the video. Amnesty International called on Wednesday for an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into the incident. "It's obviously a hard thing to see. It's painful to see, especially when you learn after the fact what was going on. But you – you talked about the fog of war. These people were operating in split-second situations," Gates said. The US military said an investigation shortly after the incident found that US forces were unaware of the presence of news staff and thought they were engaging armed insurgents, mistaking a camera for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. "We've investigated it very thoroughly," Gates said. The military's central command said last week it had no plans to open a new investigation. David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief, said: "I urge the secretary of defence to meet with me to help ensure a tragedy like this never happens again. We need to have transparency, accountability and an acknowledgment of the vital role journalists play in telling the story of war." ● SOURCE Reuters 

Reuters journalist killed in Bangkok street clashes

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-10T17:58:36+01:00

A Reuters television cameraman was shot dead in a violent clash between Thai troops and anti-government protesters in Bangkok on Saturday. "I am dreadfully saddened to have lost our colleague Hiro Muramoto in the Bangkok clashes," said David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief. "Journalism can be a terribly dangerous profession as those who try to tell the world the story thrust themselves in the centre of the action. The entire Reuters family will mourn this tragedy." Tokyo-based Muramoto, 43, had been covering fighting between troops and protesters in the Rajdumnoen Road area where soldiers opened fire with rubber bullets and tear gas, as well as live rounds into the air, in Bangkok's worst political violence in 18 years. He was shot in the chest and arrived at Klang Hospital without a pulse. The hospital's director, Dr Pichaya Nakwatchara, said the bullet had exited his back. An army spokesman said protesters were armed with guns and had been throwing petrol bombs and grenades at troops. At least 521 people, including 64 soldiers and police, were wounded in the fighting near the Phan Fah bridge and Rajdumnoen Road in Bangkok's old quarter, a protest base near government buildings and the regional UN headquarters. Four civilians and four soldiers were killed, deputy governor of Bangkok Malinee Sukavrejworakit said. After the shooting all Reuters staff covering the violence were taken off the streets pending a reassessment of the situation on the ground. Muramoto, pictured, had worked for Reuters in Tokyo for more than 15 years. He was married with two children. ● SOURCE Reuters 

Obituary: Amy Corcoran

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-09T10:14:46+01:00

Amy Corcoran, a Reuters TV producer for more than 15 years in Washington, Moscow and Singapore, died suddenly in Doha on Wednesday. She had recently settled in Qatar with her husband, former Reuters correspondent Terry Friel, working for Al-Jazeera’s English channel. "A lasting friend to many in Reuters, Amy will be remembered not only for her great professional skill but also her warmth, humanity, and great enjoyment of life," said Jeremy Smith, Reuters deputy news editor, television. 

Tony Winning elected SPS pension fund trustee

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-08T13:17:06+01:00

Tony Winning, a member and former chairman of the Pension Review Group, has been elected a trustee of the Reuters Supplementary Pension Scheme (SPS), the smaller of the two Reuters UK final salary pension funds. He succeeds Michael Cooling as a member-nominated director of the SPS trustee company for a five-year term. Winning, 65, who lives in London, worked for Reuters editorial for 32 years as a correspondent and editor. He served in four continents and ended his career as Editor Asia based in Singapore. 

No new probe into killing of Reuters news staff - US military

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-07T23:15:12+01:00

The US military's Central Command said on Wednesday it has no current plans to reopen an investigation into a helicopter attack that killed a dozen people in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff. The two Reuters staff killed in the 2007 attack were photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his assistant and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40. The graphic helicopter gunsight video of the attack has been widely viewed around the world on the Internet since its release on Monday by the group WikiLeaks. The footage includes an audio track of the conversation between the helicopter crew. Many who have seen it have been shocked at the images and at some of the fliers' comments. International law and human rights experts who have watched the leaked video – obtained from military whistleblowers – say the Apache helicopter crew in the footage may have acted illegally. Two US military officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity that lawyers at Central Command have been reviewing the hitherto secret video, which was revealed on Monday by a group that promotes leaking to fight government and corporate corruption. "We're looking at a reinvestigation because of a question of the rules of engagement. Were all the actions that are depicted on that video in parallel with the rules of engagement in effect at the time?" one of the officials said. But Rear Admiral Hal Pittman, director of communications at Central Command, said in a statement to Reuters: "Central Command has no current plans to reinvestigate or review this combat action." Other officials said Central Command was seeking to play down its role in determining whether to reopen the case because the unit involved was no longer based in Iraq, shifting the onus to Army and Pentagon leaders to make the decision. Detailed rules of engagement are generally kept classified to avoid tipping off adversaries about tactics on the battlefield, Pentagon officials said. David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief, said: "I would welcome a thorough new investigation. Reuters from the start has called for transparency and an objective inquiry so that all can learn lessons from this tragedy." The US military has said an investigation of the incident shortly after it occurred found that US forces were not aware of the presence of the news staffers and thought they were engaging armed insurgents, mistaking a camera for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Human rights lawyers and other experts who have viewed the footage say they are concerned about how the helicopter fliers operated, particularly in opening fire on a van that arrived on the scene after the initial attack and whose occupants began trying to help the wounded. Chris Cobb-Smith, a former British army officer who has conducted war zone investigations, said knowing what rules of engagement the pilots were operating under was critical to understanding whether they had acted appropriately. But firing on those who came to help the wounded appeared to be a breach of the laws governing military conduct in war, he said. "That is the element that is blatant. That is against all humanitarian law and the rules of conflict – most definitely and without a doubt," he told Reuters. Amnesty International called on Wednesday for an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into the incident. ● SOURCE Reuters 

IFJ urges Obama to probe US killing of Reuters news staff

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-07T15:05:05+01:00

The International Federation of Journalists has called on President Barack Obama to open a fresh investigation into the actions of the US Army, which has been implicated in killings of journalists in Iraq. It follows the release on Monday of graphic video footage showing a US helicopter attack on civilians, including two Reuters news staffers, photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh. "This is evidence of calculated, cold-blooded and horrifying violence," said Jim Boumelha, IFJ president. "The United States cannot ignore this atrocity and the killings of unarmed civilians. We insist on a completely new review of these and all the killings of journalists and media staff in the Iraq conflict." The July 2007 attack was filmed from an Apache helicopter flying over Baghdad. The video was released by WikiLeaks, a US website, which decrypted a version obtained from military whistleblowers. The IFJ said it reignites the controversy over American military attacks on journalists during the conflict, which were highlighted on 8 April 2003 when US forces fired on Baghdad's Palestine Hotel killing Taras Protsyuk, a Ukrainian cameraman working for Reuters, and José Couso of the Telecinco network in Spain. Earlier that day US forces attacked the offices of Al-Jazeera in Baghdad, killing reporter Tareq Ayyoub. “Altogether there have been 19 unexplained killings of media staff at the hands of US soldiers,” said Boumelha. “The administration of Barack Obama cannot duck its responsibility to set aside the white-wash of self-exonerating reporting by the US army. Justice requires that there is no impunity and that the US military is held to account for its actions in Iraq.” The Brussels-based IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 125 countries. ● SOURCE International Federation of Journalists 

Thomson Reuters seeks Pentagon meeting over slayings

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-06T22:52:31+01:00

Editor-in-chief David Schlesinger and chief executive Tom Glocer are seeking a meeting with the Pentagon to discuss the need to learn lessons from the killing of two Reuters staffers in Iraq. Namir Noor-Eldeen, photographer, and Saeed Chmagh, driver, died in a burst of cannon fire from a US Army Apache attack helicopter over Baghdad on 12 July 2007. A classified military video recording of the killings as seen through the helicopter gunsight was released on Monday by the website WikiLeaks, which said it obtained the encrypted footage from military whistleblowers. The Pentagon confirmed its authenticity. WikiLeaks called it a case of “collateral murder”. The video shows a US Army Apache repeatedly opening fire on a group of men that included Noor-Eldeen, 22, and Chmagh, 40, and then on a van that stopped to rescue one of the wounded men. None of the members of the group were taking hostile action, contrary to the US Defence Department’s initial cover story. Schlesinger told staff there was no better evidence of the dangers each and every journalist in a war zone faces at any time. "We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the men and women of Reuters news who put themselves on the front line to tell the story; we mourn and remember each of our colleagues who has died – our books of remembrance that we keep in our main offices are grim reminders of the sacrifices too many have made over the many decades and many conflicts." It is impossible to watch and listen to the video dispassionately, Schlesinger said. "I struggle with my emotions the way I’m sure many of you struggle as well," he added. "I believe that we as an organization and I as an individual must fight for journalists’ safety. I will continue to campaign for better training for the military – to help as much as possible to teach the difference in form between a camera and an rpg or between a tripod and a weapon. I will continue to press for thorough and objective investigations. I will continue to insist that governments the world over recognize the rights of journalists to do their jobs. I will continue to ensure that our rules and operating procedures are the safest in the industry. "In this particular case, Tom Glocer and I want to meet with the Pentagon to press the need to learn lessons from this tragedy. "These stories are not easy for us to report or to be involved in. They test our commitment to viewing events and actions objectively. "What matters in the end is not how we as colleagues and friends feel; what matters is the wider public debate that our stories and this video provoke." ● SOURCE Reuters | Collateral Murder ● Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh Memorial ● Staff tributes ● Namir Noor-Eldeen tribute | SLIDESHOW 

Video released showing US Army's killing of Reuters news staff

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-04-05T20:42:44+01:00

Graphic footage of the killing of two Reuters news staff by US forces in Baghdad three years ago was released in Washington on Monday. The classified military video depicting the killings on 12 July 2007 was released by the website WikiLeaks, which called it a case of “collateral murder”. It said it obtained the video as well as supporting documents from military whistleblowers. Julian Assange, editor of WikiLeaks, unveiled the video at the National Press Club. He said the crew of the attack helicopter approached its job as if it were a video game, not something involving human lives. Their desire was simply to kill, he said. "Their desire was to get high scores on that computer game." Video of the incident from two Apaches and photographs taken of the scene were shown to Reuters editors in Baghdad on 25 July 2007 in an off-the-record briefing.  Reuters had been seeking release of the video, shot from a helicopter gun-sight, through the US Freedom of Information Act. After demands by Reuters, the incident was investigated and the military concluded that the actions of the soldiers were in accordance with the law of armed conflict and its own rules of engagement. The military did not reveal how the Reuters staff were killed, and stated that they did not know how two young children were wounded. The video shows a US Army Apache repeatedly opening fire on a group of men that included photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40, pictured, both Iraqi, and then on a van that stopped to rescue one of the wounded men. None of the members of the group were taking hostile action, contrary to the Pentagon's initial cover story. They were milling about on a street corner. Crew members can be heard celebrating their kills. "Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards," says one crewman after multiple rounds of 30 mm cannon fire left nearly a dozen bodies in the street. A crewman begs for permission to open fire on the van and its occupants, even though it has done nothing but stop to help the wounded: "Come on, let us shoot!" Two crewmen share a laugh when a Bradley fighting vehicle runs over one of the corpses. And after soldiers on the ground find two small children shot and bleeding in the van, one crewman can be heard saying: "Well, it's their fault bringing their kids to a battle." The New York Times reported the military's official cover story as follows: The American military said in a statement late Thursday that 11 people had been killed: nine insurgents and two civilians. According to the statement, American troops were conducting a raid when they were hit by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The American troops called in reinforcements and attack helicopters. In the ensuing fight, the statement said, the two Reuters employees and nine insurgents were killed. "There is no question that coalition forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force," said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, a spokesman for the multinational forces in Baghdad. Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer said in a statement after the slayings: “Noor-Eldeen and Chmagh’s outstanding contribution to reporting on the unfolding events in Iraq has been vital. They stand alongside other colleagues in Reuters who have died doing a job that they believe in.” David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief, said in a statement today: “The deaths of Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh three years ago were tragic and emblematic of the extreme dangers that exist in covering war zones. We continue to work for journalist safety and call on all involved parties to recognise the important work that journalists do and the extreme danger that photographers and video journalists face in particular. The video released today via WikiLeaks is graphic evidence of the dangers involved in war journalism and the tragedies that can result." ● SOURCE Collateral Murder | Reuters | The New York Times ● Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh Memorial 

Tom Glocer: it's not just about money

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-31T15:22:34+01:00

It’s not just about money: there are other things involved in keeping the stars in the business, says Tom Glocer. “We want incredible, high-performing, successful people but within the boundaries where the company matters more than I. There'll be another chief executive. There've been nine before me at Reuters and, if you think in longer terms, it puts a bit of perspective just on how bright is your candle power,” the CEO said in a radio broadcast. “It's not just about money, but there is a market out there for talent. People are more aware of it than they think. To pretend that it's no issue at all and that people will just stay for the joy of it, I think, ultimately, is insulting but, conversely, if you believe you can bribe people to stay in a hostile environment or money's the only thing that motivates them, all of the research, all of my experience, shows differently. In fact what the best research show is that the single highest correlating factor to retaining employees and job satisfaction is: my manager understands me, cares about me, maybe knows the names of my children and is interested in my work and helps me achieve my goals. But don't try and pay me half the market rate, 'cos you'll just, you know, you'll diss me.” Glocer described a cycle which he said was true for human beings, for companies and for governments where success and high achievement breeds pride, “that's OK, then breeds arrogance, not OK, then breeds complacency, egotistical behaviour, and then the downfall, and you see that cycle over and over again. “And it is the rare individual and the rare company that can stay when it's at the top of the game. How paranoid are you? … You need to keep that humble questioning, otherwise eventually you'll just believe your own PR.” Glocer was speaking in a panel discussion on BBC Radio 4 programme The Bottom Line, first broadcast on Sunday 28 March. Interviewer Evan Davies also asked Glocer about the motivation for Thomson’s 2008 takeover of Reuters. Was it that Reuters suddenly found itself facing the most intense competition in the most lucrative bit of the market from players like Bloomberg? Was Reuters getting a bit desperate? Glocer’s reply: “No, Reuters went through – I arrived in the UK and took on the job as chief executive in the summer of 2001 and the period 2001 to 2003 was the near-death experience for Reuters, and it was really difficult. You know, we had to do some very unpopular things. I had to do some things that I still find hard to this day. We let a lot of people go which substantially restructured the company, we sold a lot of units, but until the time we agreed to the Thomson acquisition we had come through that hole and were growing nicely again. The fit with Thomson was just so good, and their willingness to come at the right moment and pay a substantial premium for Reuters was there, that we jumped.” Asked about the decline of newspapers, Glocer said: “At the margin, the traditional Reuters news agency selling to media customers is now about two per cent of the $13 billion annual revenues of the firm… It's very visible, we care about it a lot, it's still a profitable business but, you know, the shift in our revenues reflects where we find profitable opportunities, and yes, the newspaper world is going through a terrible, wrenching transformation. Part of it, I think, is because people can't wrap their brains around a pretty straightforward transition which is: newspapers don't have to be on physical wood paper pulp technology, right? It just so happens that the current processes lasted for so long no one can think about what does journalism mean in an iPad world, or son of iPad, and what will it look like. So, I think this is not the death knell of journalism, it is the death knell of people who insist that journalism has to be about printing on dead trees.” ● CLICK to view a video version of the radio broadcast (available only in the UK) | VIDEO 

Two multimedia productions win top US awards

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-26T19:06:48+00:00

Two multimedia Reuters productions have taken first and second place in the 2010 best of photojournalism awards in the United States. Reuters won first place in the news/feature multimedia category for Times of Crisis, charting 365 days of economic and financial upheaval, and second place for Surviving the Tsunami, a Thomson Reuters Foundation production with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The annual contest is run by the US National Press Photographer’s Association and the Florida-based Poynter Institute. ● CLICK to view Times of Crisis ● CLICK to view Surviving the Tsunami 

Thomson Reuters again rated among world's most ethical companies

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-24T22:03:09+00:00

Thomson Reuters has again been rated one of the 100 most ethical companies in the world. The designation, awarded by the New York-based Ethisphere Institute, recognises companies that go beyond making statements about doing business ethically and translate those words into action. The designation is awarded to companies that have leading ethics and compliance programmes, particularly compared with their industry peers. Companies were judged on their ethics and compliance programmes, governance and corporate responsibility. They were measured against seven categories: corporate citizenship and responsibility; corporate governance; innovation that contributes to the public well being; industry leadership; executive leadership and tone from the top; legal, regulatory and reputation track record; and internal systems and ethics/compliance programme. Thomson Reuters is listed in the media, publishing and entertainment section alongside Time Warner. ● SOURCE Ethisphere Institute 

Reuters’ social media rules stir online debate

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-12T19:19:42+00:00

Reuters has been taken to task for attempting to control what its staff write on the Internet and attention has been drawn to the fact that the editor-in-chief did what journalists are now told not to do: “Don’t scoop the wire”. Reuters’ publication this week of new ● guidelines for social media like Facebook and Twitter in its ● Handbook of Journalism has attracted wide attention in the blogosphere. The online magazine Salon said the guidelines suffer from many of the same problems as similar policies set last year by The New York Times and the The Washington Post. “All of these flaws boil down to one thing: A desire to control something that fundamentally can’t be controlled, and a fear of what happens when that control is lost,” it said. Reuters’ guidelines state: “The advent of social media does not change your relationship with the company that employs you — do not use social media to embarrass or disparage Thomson Reuters. Our company’s brands are important; so, too, is your personal brand. Think carefully about how what you do reflects upon you as a professional and upon us as an employer of professionals.” Salon commented: “The overwhelming message is that, while social media is great and useful for many things (although none of those things are ever mentioned), it is a minefield of potential dangers and even a potential threat to the company’s traditional media business… “Right at the end of the new policy, Reuters says something that cuts to the heart of all the difficulties with social media guidelines. The policy baldly states: ‘Don’t scoop the wire.’ So I mentioned on Twitter that Reuters’ own editor-in-chief, David Schlesinger, (pictured), did exactly that when he was tweeting from Davos last year and posting about a number of newsworthy events [● David Schlesinger: all a-twitter and scooping Reuters]. Schlesinger responded that “some stuff belongs on the wire first. some stuff belongs on tweets. some stuff you can’t always tell immediately.” That phrase could just as easily be applied to all of the other potential negative outcomes that Reuters is trying to avoid with its policy, Salon said. Some things are bad to say on Twitter, and some things are not — and some stuff you can’t always tell immediately. It added: “If you trust your writers and editors, whom you presumably hired and continue to employ because they are smart and capable, then let them use social media for what it was meant for: engaging with readers in as many ways as possible. Don’t get consumed with fear about a loss of control over them — embrace it.” The blog Techdirt, in a commentary headed “Reuters Social Media Policy Gets It Half Right, Half Wrong”, said the rule that hard news content must be broken first via the wire doesn't really make much sense. “It also goes against what some at Reuters have successfully done. You can still ‘scoop the wire’ and then publish a full report on the wire. In fact, if you use Twitter correctly, you can build a lot more interest in the upcoming full story. “While there are plenty of reasonable and useful suggestions in the Reuters social media policies, some of it seems to go against what Schlesinger said last year: “‘The old means of control don't work. “‘The old categories don't work. “‘The old ways of thinking won't work. “‘We all need to come to terms with that. “‘Fundamentally, the old media won't control news dissemination in the future. And organisations can't control access using old forms of accreditation any more.’” ● SOURCE Salon | Techdirt 

Reuters media chief outlines vision for future news network

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-11T04:08:59+00:00

Reuters has given a sneak preview of its vision for a future news network that aims to draw on the experience of online social networks. Project Apollo involves creating a content network that could be both a resource for newspapers requiring specialised information and a means of syndicating their own stories, said Chris Ahearn, president Reuters media, pictured. “The media is not a one-way street anymore, so why should professional networks be any different from the way the consumers are consuming news?”  he said at a conference in Abu Dhabi. The new project aims to bring together lessons from social media networks and from Thomson Reuters’ primary business of professional information subscriptions. In the latter realm, the company has learned that “metadata matters”, Ahearn said, referring to the information used to tag and sort media to make it easily searchable. The Apollo project aims to move away from selling clients Thomson Reuters-only products, which “sounds like a very 20th century model to me”, he said. “What sounds far more interesting to us and our clients is how do we move from a single-source provider to thinking about a professional news network that allows you as a journalist, or your institution, to have access not only to Reuters material, but to a variety of other potentially more specialised information about sport or entertainment, or other areas where we are never going to be as good as someone else.” At the same time, he said, this network would allow news organisations “to take content that you already paid to produce once, and you already monetised, and see if there’s another market for it in a non-competitive way”. “Creating that network is going to be the future for us.” Ahearn said the company made these investments because last year’s doldrums would not last. “Advertising’s not dead,” he said. “We had a tough year, and advertising was down across the world, but advertising is not going to dry up in the media experience. In some areas of the world, we are going to see growth, like India, China, and despite a bit of a retrenchment here [the Middle East] over the last year, I bet growth comes back.” ● SOURCE The National 

Thomson Reuters ranks #2 in Fortune list

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-12T03:33:58+00:00

Thomson Reuters ranked #2 for financial data services in this year's Fortune world’s most admired companies list. Within this industry the group was ranked first overall for innovation, social responsibility and global competitiveness. Top of the ranking was Automatic Data Processing with a score of 6.69, just ahead of Thomson Reuters’ 6.54. Fortune gave Thomson Reuters the following industry rankings for key attributions of reputation: ● Innovation 1 ● People management 2 ● Use of corporate assets 3 ● Social responsibility 1 ● Quality of management 5 ● Financial soundness 3 ● Long-term investment 3 ● Quality of products/services 3 ● Global competitiveness 1 ● SOURCE CNN 

Thomson Reuters files its 2009 annual report

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-11T17:26:20+00:00

Thomson Reuters filed its annual report for 2009 on Thursday. It contains audited financial statements, management's discussion and analysis and other disclosures. The report is available on ● www.thomsonreuters.com in the Investor Relations section. CLICK this link to download it directly ● Thomson Reuters 2009 Annual Report Hard copies may be obtained, free of charge, by contacting Thomson Reuters Investor Relations at ● investor.relations@thomsonreuters.com or by phone at + 1.800.969.9974. Thomson Reuters reported its 2009 results on 24 February. Profit for the last quarter was 68 per cent lower and financial customer losses were expected to continue to hurt revenue this year. The next quarterly results are due to be announced on 4 May. ● SOURCE Thomson Reuters 

Reuters publishes social media rules for journalists

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-10T21:53:06+00:00

Recognising the spread of social media on the Internet, Reuters published guidelines for its journalists’ use of Facebook, Twitter and other networks and pointed out some risks of the brave new world of online information. The rise of social media has brought journalists some powerful new storytelling and information-gathering tools, but these new opportunities have brought new risks, said Dean Wright, global editor, ethics, innovation and news standards, pictured. “At Reuters, we have just published some social media guidelines that lay out some basic principles and offer recommendations that should prove useful as journalists navigate what can sometimes seem a chaotic landscape.” The new guidelines for using Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks embrace these basic principles: ● Journalists are encouraged to use social media approaches. ● Accuracy, freedom from bias and independence are fundamental to Reuters’ reputation. These values and the Trust Principles apply to journalism produced using social media just as they have to all other journalism produced by Reuters. ● Reuters is distinguished by the trust invested in its journalists to rise above personal bias in their work and to apply common sense in dealing with the challenges offered by social media. Wright said some news organisations have been more proscriptive with their rules or guidelines for journalists using social media – “and it’s tempting to provide the rule-hungry with specific latitudes and longitudes of what’s acceptable. But I think that approach sells short the ability of journalists to use their brains and to see – and report on – a world that’s changing every day. “That’s why I think of the Reuters Handbook of Journalism as a living document, one that helps us navigate that changing world with an eye on the future while being grounded in the ethical behaviour and high standards that have brought us so far.” The new guidelines state, inter alia: “We want to encourage you to use social media approaches in your journalism but we also need to make sure that you are fully aware of the risks – especially those that threaten our hard-earned reputation for independence and freedom from bias or our brand.” The recommendations offer general guidance with more detailed suggestions for managing journalists’ presence on the most popular social networks. Journalists are encouraged to think about the following principles whenever using social media. ● “Accuracy, freedom from bias and integrity are fundamental to the reputation of Reuters and your ability to do your job effectively. The advent of social media changes none of this and you should do nothing that would damage our reputation for impartiality and independence. We reserve the right to change your beat or responsibilities if there are problems in this area. In the case of serious breaches, we may use our established disciplinary procedures. ● ”The advent of social media does not change your relationship with the company that employs you – do not use social media to embarrass or disparage Thomson Reuters. Our company’s brands are important; so, too, is your personal brand. Think carefully about how what you do reflects upon you as a professional and upon us as an employer of professionals. ● “The distinction between the private and the professional has largely broken down online and you should assume that your professional and personal social media activity will be treated as one no matter how hard you try to keep them separate. You should also be aware that even if you make use of privacy settings, anything you post on a social media site may be made public. ● “While it is not practical to always apply the 'second pair of eyes rule' for journalists using social media, especially Twitter, in a professional capacity, you should consider that a 'virtual second pair of eyes rule' applies under which your manager and/or senior editors will retrospectively review your professional output. ● ”Remember, too, that your sources, colleagues, peers, competitors and even future employers also can and will look at your output.” The guidelines add: “We’re in a competitive business and while the spirit of social media is collaborative we need to take care not to undermine the commercial basis of our company.” ● SOURCE Reuters | Reuters Handbook for Journalists 

Gordon Brown, in pre-election mode, uses Thomson Reuters platform

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-10T21:31:12+00:00

British prime minister Gordon Brown chose to use a Thomson Reuters platform to announce some major pre-election political news, including a public sector pay freeze on senior civil servants and the military. Brown was speaking on Wednesday at Thomson Reuters' London office at Canary Wharf as an invited guest in an occasional series of talks by "newsmakers". His speech received wide media coverage, and Thomson Reuters got some credit as a newsmaking location – non-partisan, of course. The Guardian newspaper noted that Brown was "speaking at Thomson Reuters in Canary Wharf, the same venue where the Tory leader, David Cameron, attacked Labour's record on the economy last week." ● SOURCE Reuters 

Thomson Reuters staff mark International Women's Day

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-08T00:58:29+00:00

Thomson Reuters staff marked International Women's Day on Monday with a global "follow the sun" project that enables participants to contribute to a live blog throughout the day. IWD, first observed in 1911, celebrates women’s economic, political and social achievements. It is a public holiday in China, Russia and some other countries. The project, a collaboration involving the Reuters UK Online desk and the ● women@thomsonreuters network, is open to external guest contributors. The live blog began with the observance of International Women's Day in Kiritimati, Kiribati. It is being anchored by different Reuters bureaus around the world including those in Singapore, India, Switzerland, Dubai, Britain, Canada and the United States. Organisers say it is the first time something on this scale has been attempted at Reuters. They believe the "follow-the-sun" live blog format could provide a template for covering other global news events online and in real time. Other events covered by live blogs include the Winter Olympics 2010, the United Nations COP15 meeting. Although the duration of these events was much longer they were not covered around the clock and around the world. Online events include: ● A special coverage page "Women in Focus" http://uk.reuters.com//news/globalcoverage/womenInFocus ● A live follow-the-sun blog platform to which all are free to contribute http://live.reuters.com/Event/International_Womens_Day_2010_2 ● A slide show of Reuters images http://online.thomsonreuters.com/womensday/ ● Reuters is powering the Aurora International Women's Day site for the second year http://internationalwomensday.com ● A series of guest great debate blogs http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate-uk/tag/iwd/ ● A special Twitter feed http://twitter.com/Women_on_IWD 

Reuters caps award-winning week with more prizes

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-06T00:32:37+00:00

In addition to its own journalist of the year awards [● Reuters honours its journalists of the year], Reuters has won seven awards by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in its best in business annual competition, a record for the agency. “Some contend that good business journalism is dying. Judging by the winners of the contest, nothing could be further from the truth,” said Greg McCune, SABEW president and Thomson Reuters training manager. “Study this list of winners and you may notice the emergence of a fresh and vigorous online business media, as well as continuing excellence from some traditional media we rely on.” There were 163 winners out of a total 793 entries. The awards are to be presented on 20 March at the Society’s annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona. AWARDS ● BREAKING BUSINESS NEWS REPORTING Maggie Fox and the Mexico City bureau for H1N1 Flu: The Global Story. ● REAL-TIME NEWS ORGANIZATION SPECIAL PROJECTS Jonathan Spicer and Herb Lash for Lifting the Veil on High-Frequency Trading ● REAL-TIME NEWS ORGANIZATION SPECIAL PROJECTS Nick Carey for Route to Recovery ● BUSINESS NEWS COLUMN WRITING Matthew Goldstein ● REAL-TIME NEWS ORGANIZATION COLUMN WRITING Felix Salmon ● GENERAL EXCELLENCE FOR A SMALL WEBSITE Breakingviews.com ● CREATIVE USE OF ONLINE BY A SMALL WEBSITE Breakingviews.com downloadable calculators. ● SOURCE Reuters | SABEW 

Reuters honours its journalists of the year

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-05T20:16:32+00:00

Reuters has honoured its best journalists of 2009 in its annual Journalists of the Year awards. Winners of 11 awards were honoured for their exceptional work at a ceremony in New York on Thursday attended by Thomson Reuters chairman David Thomson. The news year demanded the best out of journalists and out of news organisations, editor-in-chief David Schlesinger said. “I’m proud to say the 2,800 men and women of Reuters delivered. The world’s economies began a slow climb out from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression; the new administration in Washington faced tough new political realities; the war in Afghanistan escalated; and the debate over climate policy grew more heated. China flexed its economic and diplomatic muscles; the Gulf experienced the shuddering growing pains emerging economies can have; the competition for resources saw major players jockeying. Through all of this, our journalists were the eyes and ears of the world, doggedly and often bravely telling the globe’s stories.” AWARDS ● PHOTO OF THE YEAR Carlos Barria, photographer based in Miami, for his photograph of a US soldier taking a break during a night mission in the Pesh Valley in Afghanistan. ● EDITOR OF THE YEAR Eric Burroughs, Asia financial markets editor based in Hong Kong, and Vidya Ranganathan, deputy Asia financial markets editor based in Singapore, for driving innovation and excellence and showing superb leadership in a year of focus on markets expertise. ● VIDEO JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR Roystan Chan, video journalist based in Shanghai, for impeccable video storytelling in China. ● COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR John Kemp, commodities and energy columnist, for numerous agenda-setting commentary pieces. ● PHOTO JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR Toby Melville, photographer based in London, for his photographs documenting daily life in the United Kingdom. ● REPORTER OF THE YEAR Emma Graham-Harrison, correspondent based in Beijing, for consistently excellent reporting across asset classes. ● VIDEO STORY OF THE YEAR Afghanistan team, for consistently delivery outstanding team coverage of Afghanistan news in trying circumstances. ● SCOOP OF THE YEAR The US financial services team, for an exclusive with former Lehman CEO Richard Fuld. ● MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING OF THE YEAR Larry Downing, senior staff photographer at the White House, for his photo essay on Arlington National Cemetery's Section 60. ● STORY OF THE YEAR Iran team coverage, for comprehensive coverage of a turbulent year in Iran. ● EDITOR’S CHOICE Markets Buzz/The dealing room team, for pioneering new ways of storytelling. “We talk a lot about ‘new ways of storytelling’,” Schlesinger said. “By bringing chat rooms to life and to the fore editorially, this group actually did it. “Editorial innovation has a very simple definition: using new tools in new ways to make the traditional craft of journalism relevant to customers in a new age. “The team we honour – represented by Stuart Brown, Eric Burroughs, Dayan Candappa, Andrew Goldner and Phil Smith – brought journalism into the chat room, brought community building and management into the tool kit of the journalist, and made the snap and crackle of instant messaging an arm of storytelling. “By creating a chat room ethos where hundreds of clients could lurk and then participate with Reuters journalists, with each other and with invited guests, this team showed that valuable new content could be created at the intersection of journalists and customers, where one-way traditional information-giving met the two-way street of information-sharing. “This team understood the value we could create by forging a community of professionals with shared interests, passions and spirit. “From the first tentative instant messages flowing into what seemed a void, they've created a new form of Reuters journalism that is becoming vibrant, important, valuable and a marketplace of ideas. “Because of the imagination and innovation of this group, the Reuters journalist of the future will be as at home in the chat room as she is in the press conference, as conversant in the style of instant messaging as he is in the style of an analysis – and both our journalism and our service to clients will be richer as a result.” Footnote: The master of ceremonies at the awards pronounced the name of the agency “rooters”. Members of the audience quickly corrected the howler. ● CLICK the link below to read other comments by David Schlesinger on the award winners. ● SOURCE Reuters 

TRI rated buy and 5th best media stock

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-03T15:17:26+00:00

Thomson Reuters was rated buy on Wednesday and placed fifth in a list of best media stocks. The rating by markets website The Street is based on a ranking of fundamentals and performance. It noted that the stock has advanced 52 per cent over the past year, trailing major US indices. TRI trades at a price-to-book ratio of 1.5, a discount to media peers. The shares offer a 3.2 per cent dividend yield with an excessive payout ratio of 113 per cent. The Street’s ranking of best media stocks is: 1. Daily Journal Co 2. Interactive Data 3. DreamWorks Animation 4. John Wiley & Sons 5. Thomson Reuters. ● SOURCE The Street 

Reuters hires top FT editor as global editor-at-large

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-03-01T23:41:03+00:00

Reuters has hired the US managing editor of the Financial Times as its global editor-at-large, a newly-created position. It said Chrystia Freeland, pictured, will be based in New York and report to David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief. She will help plan Reuters editorial strategy, play a key role on forthcoming financial video service Reuters Insider, serve as Reuters’ principal television pundit, be senior contributor to Reuters.com and play a leading role in Reuters Summits and in Thomson Reuters global Newsmaker series. Prior to her tenure as the FT’s US managing editor Freeland was the newspaper’s deputy editor in London, editor of the weekend edition, editor of FT.com, UK news editor, Moscow bureau chief and Eastern Europe correspondent. She began her career as a stringer in Ukraine, writing for the FT, The Washington Post and The Economist. "Chrystia has proven herself an excellent reporter and an original thinker whose views are respected and listened to," said Schlesinger. "Her work will be a great complement to that done by the 2,800 journalists at Reuters worldwide." Lionel Barber, FT editor, said: "Chrystia has been a driving force behind the FT's success in the US for the past four years, and has contributed to the FT's global profile in many other senior roles in London and Moscow. I wish her the very best with her future endeavours." Freeland’s replacement at the FT is Gillian Tett, assistant editor for markets coverage. ● SOURCE PR Newswire 

Obituary: Hugh Pain

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-26T17:44:34+00:00

Hugh Pain, who as a correspondent survived an anti-tank mine explosion and sniper fire, died on Thursday after a two-year battle with lung cancer. He was 69. His condition had deteriorated about three weeks ago. Pain was in a Reuters armoured Land Rover that ran over an anti-tank mine in Bosnia in January 1993. Both his heels were shattered and he came under fire from a sniper. His dry sense of humour remained intact, however, and he began his report on the incident as follows: “I had often wondered what it would be like to die. “Now I know, or near enough to satisfy curiosity,” he wrote from Vitez, Bosnia-Herzegovina under the headline: “The sensation of a huge force...” “The anti-tank mine that detonated on Monday in the west-central Bosnian town of Gornji Vakuf, where we had gone to report on fighting between Moslems and Croats, had up to three kg (6.6 pounds) of explosive in it. “It was enough to reduce our armoured Land Rover to a twisted heap of wreckage as it ran over it. “And more than enough to kill us all, according to British army engineers who inspected it afterwards. “The good news from the near-death front is that you don't have time to be scared.” Corinne Dufka, photographer, and Kevin Sullivan, UPI correspondent, were travelling with Pain and were also wounded. Pain was an avid collector of first edition books and before his war injury a keen tennis player. Previous assignments included Italy, Iran and India. Later, he worked as an editor on the business news unit and other production desks in London including the world desk. He had joined Reuters in 1977 and retired in 2003. Pain’s elder son Nick said that his father had been in Heraklion hospital since 8 February and was his normal, perfectly lucid self for much of the time. At around 8:00 pm on Wednesday Pain took his oxygen mask off and said "D'you know, I'm getting really rather bored with this." He died at 5:45 am the following morning. Burial is on Saturday close to his home in Agia Galini, Crete, where he lived with his wife, Caroline. A memorial service will be arranged later. ● CLICK to read Hugh Pain’s account of being blown up in Bosnia. 

Paul Mylrea lands top media job at BBC

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-26T15:29:47+00:00

Paul Mylrea, pictured, former correspondent and editor of the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s AlertNet, has landed the top media job at the BBC. He will become head of press and media relations in April. Mylrea, whose 20-year career at Reuters ended in 2002, is director of communications at the British government’s department for international development. Previously he was director of group media relations at Transport for London and head of media at Oxfam GB. He is also president-elect at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. Mylrea will lead the BBC press office and strategic communications function and be part of a ten-strong communications steering group. He will also be the BBC's official spokesman. The job specification states that it sits at the heart of reputation management for the BBC. "Paul is a terrific hire for the BBC," the corporation's director of communications, Ed Williams, said. "The combination of 20 years at Reuters, along with proven experience at the hard end of public sector communications, is excellent preparation for leading media relations at the BBC." ● SOURCE BBC | PR Week 

TRI downgraded to underweight from neutral

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-25T15:44:51+00:00

Thomson Reuters shares were downgraded to underweight from neutral on Thursday, a day after the company reported sharply lower 2009 Q4 profit and signalled revenue growth would not return until the second half of this year. Investment bank Piper Jaffray issued the downgrade and cut its price target for the share to $31 from $33. Thomson Reuters closed on Wednesday at $34.51 on volume of 656,288 shares, above the average daily volume of 390,839. The stock is currently above its 50-day moving average of $33.25 and above its 200-day moving average of $32.04. Piper’s analyst said: “Increased investment spending, higher integration costs associated with Reuters, and still anemic revenue trends will translate into lackluster earnings on a near-term basis. We see limited catalysts for the share over the next six months given the uninspiring earnings outlook and, accordingly, lower our rating to Underweight from Neutral. We still like Thomson Reuters’ franchise, management team, and long-term growth prognosis, but within our coverage universe we see more attractive opportunities elsewhere within the next six months.” The website SmarTrend, reporting the downgrade, said it was bullish on Thomson Reuters. SmarTrend alerted its subscribers to watch for a reversal of this month’s 2.6 per cent increase in the value of the stock since an Uptrend alert on 1 February at $33.63. ● SOURCE SmarTrend | Street Insider 

TR Q4 earnings down 68%, more revenue pain expected this year

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-24T15:33:01+00:00

Thomson Reuters reported profit for the last quarter of 2009 down 68 per cent and signalled that financial customer losses would continue to hurt revenue in 2010. But the company also said on Wednesday net sales were positive from October to December, and it forecast a return to revenue growth in the second half of this year. The impact of net sales on revenue is delayed because of the company's subscription model. "We've already seen the net sales picture improve significantly through the last quarter and into the first quarter of this year," chief executive Tom Glocer said in a Reuters interview. The company earned $177 million in the three months from October to December, down from $560 million a year earlier. It forecast 2010 revenue to be flat or slightly lower, and underlying free cash flow to be slightly down from 2009 as it continues to invest in new products and platforms. Fourth quarter underlying profit fell 16 per cent to $661 million. Adjusted earnings per share slipped to 44 cents from 50 cents a year earlier, but this was a cent above the average Wall Street estimate. For the year as a whole, revenue from ongoing businesses rose one per cent to $3.35 billion, slightly above the average analyst forecast of $3.32 billion. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, revenue fell three per cent. "I am pleased with the resilient performance of the company in 2009,” Glocer said in a prepared statement. “Despite the worst global operating environment any of us has faced, Thomson Reuters was able to hold or improve on our prior-year results, with revenues comparable to 2008 and underlying operating margin and free cash flow up on the prior year. I am also pleased that our net sales performance improved significantly through the year, with the fourth quarter recording positive net sales for the company as a whole." Glocer said he was confident 2009 was the bottom of the sales cycle. "I expect that we will return to revenue growth in the second half of 2010," he said, and 2010 would be the final year of heavy integration spending in the markets division. Annualised savings from the merger between Thomson and Reuters reached $1.1 billion last year, $300 million more than the company estimated when it closed the deal in April 2008. The company raised its 2011 annualised savings target by $200 million to $1.6 billion. It said $1.2 billion of that would come from the savings of integrating the company, and the rest from older savings programmes. The board approved a four cents increase in the annual dividend to $1.16 per share. Thomson Reuters’ US shares have risen about nine per cent so far this year, closing at $35.06 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. After today’s results announcement the shares lost nearly four per cent of their value before closing down 1.57 per cent in New York and 1.83 per cent in Toronto. ● SOURCE Reuters | PR Newswire | Washington Post/The Associated Press 

Health and safety hotel checks for hacks in Haiti

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-21T20:41:42+00:00

Reuters correspondents arriving in Haiti after the earthquake were ordered to carry out a health and safety audit of their hotel before checking in, according to The Independent newspaper. Under the headline “Regime change for foreign hacks”, it reported on Sunday: "The days when war reporters lived off their wits, whisky and a threadbare mattress are over. Reuters correspondents arriving in Haiti immediately after the earthquake are said to have been under orders to carry out a health and safety audit of their hotel before checking in. The insensitivity of reporters arriving in disaster zones is notorious, best summarised by the title of Edward Behr's memoirs: Anyone here been raped and speak English?" ● SOURCE The Independent 

TRI uptrend spotted, moving averages set to climb

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-21T22:21:42+00:00

An uptrend in Thomson Reuters shares has been spotted, a US website that analyses trading patterns has told its subscribers. Moving averages are set to climb to confirm the group's upward momentum. SmarTrend said it identified the upward trajectory using automated pattern recognition technology at $33.63 on 1 February and in the following three weeks Thomson Reuters shares returned 5.8 per cent as of the latest price on the New York Stock Exchange, $35.59. TRI is currently above its 50-day moving average of $33.03 and above its 200-day moving average of $31.95, SmarTrend said, adding "Look for these moving averages to climb to confirm the company's upward momentum”. The shares hit a 52-week high of $36.07 last week. Thomson Reuters is due to report its 2009 Q4 and full year results on Wednesday. ● SOURCE Fox Business 

Devin Wenig sees more media sector mergers

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-19T22:55:02+00:00

Thomson Reuters is still integrating following the April 2008 acquisition and while merger activity has fallen off smaller deals will continue, Devin Wenig, pictured, said at a media conference on Friday. Wenig, chief executive of the group’s markets division that includes Reuters news agency, predicted the return of media sector merger activity. “We’re a b-to-b [business-to-business] company but marriage of content and distribution has been critical… Reach and original content production can sit together. I would not be surprised at seeing mergers and acquisitions coming back.” Wenig said the company is still integrating its own big merger so won’t be making massive acquisitions of its own, but expect smaller deals — like its recent purchase of Breakingviews — instead. Wenig said the company would add paid services to its reuters.com news site this year. The site gets 30 million unique users a month. He said Thomson Reuters would soon begin to syndicate third-party content and make it available to its customers. “When we talk to clients they say that’s what we need.” As part of that, the company would also syndicate some local content (although it has no plans to produce local content of its own). Outside the conference venue in New York, demonstrators protested about prolonged contract negotiations between Thomson Reuters and the Newspaper Guild of New York, representing editorial employees. Asked about labour issues, Wenig said: “We’re not cutting either staff or salaries.” He said the company was thinking about structuring compensation in order to “play to win”. ● SOURCE PaidContent 

iKick for reporter who got too close to Apple supplier in China

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-18T11:05:56+00:00

Guards at a high-tech complex in China scuffled with a Reuters journalist taking photos at the factory gates. He escaped with threats and a kick to the leg to write about the encounter – and the obsession with secrecy of Apple, US producer of computers, iPods and iPhones. The Foxconn International factory at Longhua in Guanlan, southern China, supplies parts for Apple, which takes security so seriously that some of the California company’s contractor compounds resemble industrial fortresses. Inside the “walled city” at Longhua – one of several compounds run by Foxconn – employees are provided with most of their daily needs, from dormitories, canteens, recreation facilities, banks, post offices and bakeries. As the Reuters journalist stood on the public road taking photos of the front gate and security checkpoint, a guard shouted, Reuters reported under the joint bylines of James Pomfret and Kelvin Soh. “The reporter continued snapping photos before jumping into a waiting taxi. The guard blocked the vehicle and ordered the driver to stop, threatening to strip him of his taxi license. “The correspondent got out and insisted he was within his rights as he was on the main road. The guard grabbed his arm. A second guard ran over, and with a crowd of Foxconn workers watching, they tried dragging him into the factory. “The reporter asked to be let go. When that didn't happen, he jerked himself free and started walking off. The older guard kicked him in the leg, while the second threatened to hit him again if he moved. A few minutes later, a Foxconn security car came along but the reporter refused to board it. He called the police instead. “After the authorities arrived and mediated, the guards apologized and the matter was settled. The reporter left without filing a complaint, though the police gave him the option of doing so. "’You're free to do what you want,’ the policeman explained, ‘But this is Foxconn and they have a special status here. Please understand.’ Editor-in-chief David Schlesinger made the story his choice “must read”. ● SOURCE Reuters | CNN Money 

TRI shares hit 52-week high in New York

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-17T22:16:30+00:00

Thomson Reuters hit a 52-week high of $36.07 on the New York Stock Exchange, but closed down 0.1 per cent. The last trade of the day was $35.60, down two cents or 0.06 per cent. TRI has increased 6.2 per cent during the past month. The company is scheduled to report its 2009 fourth quarter and full year results on 24 February. In Toronto, Thomson Reuters shares closed at C$37.25, up 0.16 per cent on the day. US website TheStreet.com rated Thomson Reuters buy and noted the stock soared 51 per cent during the past year, beating US benchmarks. "The shares are undervalued relative to those of media peers based on projected earnings and book value. They are costly based on sales and cash flow," it said. ● SOURCE TheStreet 

US military frees Reuters photographer in Iraq after 17 months

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-10T13:56:40+00:00

US forces in Iraq freed Reuters photographer Ibrahim Jassam, pictured, on Wednesday, almost a year and a half after snatching him from his home in the middle of the night and holding him without charge. "How can I describe my feelings? This is like being born again," Jassam told Reuters by telephone as he was greeted emotionally by his family. "I still cannot believe that my son is next to me," his mother, Fadhila Alwan, said. "Thanks be to God. I cannot speak. I will keep him in my arms for days but I will not be able to get enough of him." US and Iraqi forces smashed in the doors to Jassam's house in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, in September 2008 and whisked him away. He spent time in a desert prison on the Iraq-Kuwait border, called Camp Bucca, and the smaller Camp Cropper detention centre near Baghdad airport. The US military never said exactly why it detained him and locked him away for so long, saying the evidence against him was classified. Jassam worked for Reuters as a freelance TV cameraman and photographer. He was one of several Iraqi journalists working for foreign news organisations who have been detained by the US military since the 2003 US invasion. None has ever been charged, triggering criticism from international journalism rights groups. "I am very pleased his long incarceration without charge is finally over," editor-in-chief David Schlesinger said. "I wish the process to release a man who had no specific accusations against him had been swifter." The US military has asserted Jassam was a "security threat". The accusations had to do with "activities with insurgents," it said last year, without giving any specifics. The term insurgents generally refers to Sunni Islamist groups. Jassam is a Shi'ite Muslim. The Iraqi Central Criminal Court ruled that there was no case against Jassam. A month before arresting him, US forces detained Reuters cameraman Ali Mashhadani and held him for three weeks without charge, the third time he was detained. Mashhadani was held for five months in 2005. ● SOURCE Reuters 

Mark Wood heads new Scottish news consortium

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-08T09:14:41+00:00

Mark Wood, former Reuters editor-in-chief, has been appointed chairman of a consortium bidding to run a regional news pilot in Scotland. The Scottish News Consortium comprises newspaper groups DC Thomson, the Herald & Times, Johnston Press, and Mentorn Scotland, a television producer. "The consortium will transform the way television and broadband news is covered in Scotland and create a new model for partnership between newspapers and broadcasters," said Wood. "Our ground-breaking plans for a truly multiplatform and interactive TV/web news service and this is a dramatically new way of engaging Scottish viewers with national regional and community news." Wood joined Reuters in 1976 and was a correspondent in Vienna, East Berlin, Moscow and Bonn. He was editor-in-chief from 1989 to 2000, then took charge of strategic media investments and alliances as director of Reuters Content Partners. After Reuters he was chief executive of Independent Television News from 2003 and also its chairman from 1998. He left ITN last year. ● SOURCE The Guardian 

The origin of Reuters dot-matrix logo, by Michael Nelson

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-06T16:02:36+00:00

Reuters old dot-matrix logo, one of the world's most recognised brands for over 40 years, was not based on the ticker tape of newswires, as some believed, but rather on the holes in teleprinter tape. Michael Nelson, former general manager, has written to the Financial Times to set the record straight. An article in the newspaper about an exhibition on the logo's designer, the late Alan Fletcher of the design partnership Pentagram, said the typeface, pictured, "evoked the ticker tape of the newswires". "That is not correct," Nelson wrote. "Ticker tape carried stock market prices. The Reuter typeface evoked the holes in teleprinter tape which was used to drive teleprinters. I attended the Reuter management meeting with Alan Fletcher to discuss his design in the mid-sixties and expressed reservations about it. I said that the technology on which it was based would be obsolescent in twenty years and the Reuter logo needed a longer life than that. I was right about the timing of the obsolescence, but am glad we adopted it because it was a brilliant design, which lasted Reuters in modified form for over 40 years until the company was acquired by Thomson in 2008." A section of teleprinter tape is shown at right. Reuters itself made the same mistake as the FT. This is what the company said about its logo before the takeover by Thomson: "Times have changed since Julius Reuters first started using carrier pigeons to fly stock quotes between Aachen and Brussels. And as the company has evolved, so has the way we represent ourselves. "The updates and revisions to our logotype through the years are important, because they provide insight into Reuters history. "Perhaps the best-known of these iterations is called, simply, the dot logo. But most people are unaware that there were actually several versions of dot logos, beginning as early as 1965. And while some at Reuters are aware that those dots were intended to represent the output of old ticker-tape machines, few know where the other, round element came from, or why the type used to spell 'Reuters' changed. "The rounded piece – or roundel – was developed in 1996 as an icon to increase Reuters visibility on computer and TV monitors, and as a way to brand our on-screen services using far less space. "As originally conceived, the roundel was intended to resemble an abstract globe, representing not only the worldwide nature of Reuters business, but also the continuous collection, processing and distribution of information, 24 hours a day (with the dots representing information, and the two hemispheres of the globe representing day and night). Moreover, the left side of the roundel was meant to refer to the openness and transparency of our company; a visual way of portraying Reuters integrity. "But in 1999 the dots in the name were joined to create greater recognition, particularly on screen where the dot logo often disintegrated in its former form. The typeface was designed especially for Reuters and called, appropriately, Julius. "Today, the dots live on in the roundel, and our logo is more visible – and more relevant – than ever before." ● SOURCE Financial Times | Letter in FT | CUBE 

Reuters editor quits over discredited story

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-06T08:24:05+00:00

The editor who wrote a story discredited by the White House has quit Reuters a month after she joined. Terri Cullen, pictured, wealth management editor, has gone only days after Reuters was forced to kill her story claiming the White House’s deficit reduction plan relied on raising taxes against the middle class by allowing tax cuts to expire. The story ran on Monday and was withdrawn that night after the White House complained. Numerous errors were discovered. On Wednesday, a senior Reuters editor sent a memo stating, “This is an important reminder about our second-pair-of-eyes rule… Any content intended for reuters.com needs to be run past an editor PRIOR to publication. This applies to any and all content, including that intended for the blog platform.” A Reuters spokeswoman confirmed Cullen’s departure but declined further comment. She apparently resigned, the website Talking Biz News said. Reuters had trumpeted Cullen’s hiring. She was picked to serve as both editor of personal investing coverage on reuters.com as well as the editorial lead for Reuters wealth management initiative, a new service due out later this year that it said "will leverage Thomson Reuters business to business wealth assets in an effort to create an online consumer offering for Reuters.com's vast audience of affluent, business professionals”. Based in New York, she reported to Richard Baum, global editor of consumer media. The reminder about the need for a second pair of eyes was sent by Keith McAllister, global editor of online, to blog editors and the global online staff. ● SOURCE Talking Biz News 

Union accuses Thomson Reuters of illegal pay cuts and Twitter curbs

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-05T22:59:18+00:00

A union filed a complaint against Thomson Reuters alleging it is illegally imposing pay cuts and restricting what employees can write on their Twitter accounts. In a complaint filed with the US National Labor Relations Board, the Newspaper Guild of New York charged that Thomson Reuters plans to cut wages of reporters and other employees by an average of 10 per cent this year without the union's consent. Thomson Reuters disputed the figure, saying it is guaranteeing a 0.5 per cent increase for the more than 400 US journalists represented by the union at Reuters News. Some will get bigger raises, based on how well they do their jobs, Thomson Reuters said in a statement. "We believe such a system is fairer than a lockstep system and is essential for Reuters' future," the company said. The union's complaint alleges that on 19 January Thomson Reuters improperly declared an impasse in the negotiations, which have been running for more than a year. Other media companies, mostly newspapers, have been lowering wages and requiring unpaid leaves of absence during the past year as a severe advertising slump dried up their main source of revenue. The Newspaper Guild contends Reuters has not been hit as hard because it is not as dependent on advertising as newspapers. "This dispute is really about saving quality journalism in this country," said New York Guild President Bill O'Meara. "If a healthy company like Thomson Reuters – whose CEO made almost as much in 2008 as our 420 members' annual salaries – cuts pay, it will cause less healthy news organizations to cut even more, and pretty soon many of the journalists our democracy depends on won't be able to afford to stay in the business." The complaint also alleges that Thomson Reuters has not followed proper procedures for drawing up its policy governing its employees' use of Twitter, the online social networking tool for broadcasting brief messages. Thomson Reuters bars its workers for posting anything "that would damage the reputation of Reuters News or Thomson Reuters." A union activist was reminded of the policy after responding to a senior manager's call to "join the (Twitter) conversation on making Reuters the best place to work" with a tweet that said: "One way to make this the best place to work is to deal honestly with Guild members." ● SOURCE The Associated Press | Newspaper Guild of New York 

Internet abuzz over Reuters story killed after White House complaint

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-02T22:55:05+00:00

Reuters has again attracted the attention of media and political blogs in the United States – this time over a story it withdrew following a White House complaint. US blogs have been abuzz over the story, which suggested President Obama would cut the US budget deficit through backdoor taxes on the middle class. Media Matters said the conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh “was very excited about a Reuters article that was so riddled with errors that the wire service withdrew it after it was released”. Business Insider quoted the offending story, filed on Monday, in part: While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases. The White House complained about inaccuracies in the story and Reuters withdrew it, saying a replacement story would be coming later in the week. Later it said the story was wrong and there would be no substitute. Business Insider said it was told by a Reuters representative that the story was withdrawn “due to significant errors of fact…The story was wrong on multiple points and should not have gone out.” Talking Points Memo Livewire said “Obama administration aides appealed to the Reuters White House reporting team to kill a story by another reporter of the news service that suggested the president’s new budget blueprint included ‘backdoor’ tax hikes”. An administration official said the Reuters White House team “worked to quickly remedy the situation and helped get the story completely withdrawn”. The discredited backdoor taxes story was noticed by The New York Times’ Media Decoder blog. And The Christian Science Monitor commented: “It says something about the state of partisanship in America when the biggest budget story of the day is a nonstory. Literally.” The media blog Gawker pointed out that it was the second story Reuters had killed in as many months “but, on the bright side, the first actually bad one”. In December a story about a billionaire hedge fund manager was spiked after he complained to Thomson Reuters’ markets division chief executive Devin Wenig. ● SOURCE Media Matters | Business Insider | Talking Points Memo | The Christian Science Monitor | Gawker 

TR hires US diplomat to strengthen government affairs in the Americas

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-02-01T21:23:32+00:00

Thomson Reuters announced it is hiring a senior US diplomat to strengthen the company’s government affairs in the Americas. Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, a former under secretary of state, joins the markets division as senior vice president and head of government affairs for the Americas. "With more than three decades in key government and diplomatic roles, Paula will leverage her experience, expertise and influence to ensure Thomson Reuters has a stronger Washington presence and a seat at the table on important discussions that affect our financial and media businesses," said Nancy Gardner, executive vice president and general counsel, Thomson Reuters markets. Dobriansky will be responsible for designing and implementing Thomson Reuters markets strategy in Washington and other key Americas capitals. She joins a global government affairs team across both the markets and professional businesses which identify risks and opportunities presented by potential regulation and maintain strategic lines of communication with government bodies. Before joining Thomson Reuters Dobriansky was under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs from 2001 to 2009, and received the secretary of state's highest honour, the distinguished service medal, for her work. ● SOURCE Marketwire 

Reuters closes last office in Fleet Street area

editor@thebaron.info — 2010-01-27T08:28:50+00:00

Reuters has closed its last office in the Fleet Street area – London Bureau has moved a mile east, closer to the main UK office at Canary Wharf. The new address, Aldgate House, 33 Aldgate High Street, is adjacent to Aldgate Tube station. It was officially opened by Lord Sebastian Coe, former Olympic champion middle distance runner now chairman of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games. The bureau was previously in Kildare House on Dorset Rise off Fleet Street. Reuters sold its long-time headquarters at 85 Fleet Street and moved to Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands in 2005. 