Trust Principles
‘Nasty nocturnal shifts’ go as Reuters merges regional desks
Sunday 01 April 2012
Reuters unifies its regional editing desks on Monday with the aim of raising the quality of its journalism and reinforcing the checks and balances of the ● Trust Principles. As part of the consolidation, overnight staffing in London and Washington is abolished for all but the biggest stories.
“Note: we aren’t eliminating jobs, just most of the nasty nocturnal shifts,” Paul Ingrassia, deputy editor-in-chief, said in a message to staff ahead of the change. The London desk will open at 6:00 am London time year-round.
The London and New York desks will handle each other’s overnight copy from the Americas and Europe, the Middle East & Africa and monitor broadcast and online media across the Atlantic for breaking news.
Reporting lines are reorganised to bring all desk staff under three newly-appointed heads of desk – Matthew Tostevin in London, Ciro Scotti in New York and Jean Yoon in Singapore. A new desk has been launched in Sydney. The heads of desk will coordinate teams of specialist chief desk editors. Reporters will file copy to just two baskets – Money, Politics & General News, and Companies & Commodities – but these will not be in place from day one.
“Our goals are to raise the bar for copy editing, rewrite and headlines and become the most vibrant desk operation in the business. We want the desk to offer a career path rich in opportunity,” Ingrassia said. “One of the most exciting changes is the creation of multimedia ‘hubs’ in each region – a cluster of desks where the regional text editor and her/his deputies will sit with journalists from our pictures, video, online and graphics operations. The aim is to foster greater collaboration across the teams and generate richer multimedia packages for our professional and consumer products. You’ll soon see these hubs start to take shape in London, Singapore and New York.
“Together, these moves will create a strong, independent desk that elevates the quality of our journalism and reinforces the checks and balances of the Trust Principles.”
● SOURCE Reuters
“Note: we aren’t eliminating jobs, just most of the nasty nocturnal shifts,” Paul Ingrassia, deputy editor-in-chief, said in a message to staff ahead of the change. The London desk will open at 6:00 am London time year-round.
The London and New York desks will handle each other’s overnight copy from the Americas and Europe, the Middle East & Africa and monitor broadcast and online media across the Atlantic for breaking news.
Reporting lines are reorganised to bring all desk staff under three newly-appointed heads of desk – Matthew Tostevin in London, Ciro Scotti in New York and Jean Yoon in Singapore. A new desk has been launched in Sydney. The heads of desk will coordinate teams of specialist chief desk editors. Reporters will file copy to just two baskets – Money, Politics & General News, and Companies & Commodities – but these will not be in place from day one.
“Our goals are to raise the bar for copy editing, rewrite and headlines and become the most vibrant desk operation in the business. We want the desk to offer a career path rich in opportunity,” Ingrassia said. “One of the most exciting changes is the creation of multimedia ‘hubs’ in each region – a cluster of desks where the regional text editor and her/his deputies will sit with journalists from our pictures, video, online and graphics operations. The aim is to foster greater collaboration across the teams and generate richer multimedia packages for our professional and consumer products. You’ll soon see these hubs start to take shape in London, Singapore and New York.
“Together, these moves will create a strong, independent desk that elevates the quality of our journalism and reinforces the checks and balances of the Trust Principles.”
● SOURCE Reuters
Lord Mark Malloch-Brown becomes Trust Principles trustee
Monday 12 December 2011
Directors of the Founders Share Company act as trustees of the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, which were established by Reuters in 1941 and adopted by the merged company when Thomson Corporation acquired Reuters in 2008. They govern the way in which Thomson Reuters operates throughout the world.
“Lord Malloch-Brown is most welcome as a Director and Trustee. He has a wealth of international experience, not least in prominent positions in the United Nations and in world-class NGOs. His background as a journalist is an element that is appreciated in a company such as ours,” said Pehr Gyllenhammar, chairman of the Founders Share Company’s board.
Malloch-Brown said: “A free press is as important a guarantee of an open society as any. As media freedom faces new challenges of technology and economics as well as the enduring ones of editorial standards and securing free speech, the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles look more relevant than ever. I am proud to have this opportunity to support them.”
Malloch-Brown is chairman of Europe, Middle East & Africa, FTI Consulting. Previously he served as minister of state in the British government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with responsibility for Africa, Asia and the United Nations. He had also served as United Nations deputy secretary-general, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, vice president of external affairs at the World Bank and founded the Economist Development Report. He worked as a journalist at The Economist and was a political consultant. He is chairman of the Royal Africa Society, trustee of the Shell Foundation and a member of the boards of the International Crisis Group, the Open Society Foundation, Save the Children International, the Centre for Global Development and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.
● SOURCE Reuters
● Trust Principles
Hacking scandal: Stephen Adler reminds staff about Trust Principles
Tuesday 19 July 2011
Reuters’ editor-in-chief Stephen Adler has reminded staff about the organisation’s Trust Principles and warned “we flirt with disaster” if they imagine the News Corporation phone hacking scandal “can’t happen here”.
The Trust Principles and Handbook of Journalism alone do not offer protection against such ethical violations as occurred at the News of the World, he said in a memo to editorial staff. The memo also bore the name of Jim Gaines, Reuters’ ethics editor. Both men are relatively new to the company: Adler joined in 2010 and was appointed editor-in-chief in February 2011. Gaines joined in April from The Daily, Rupert Murdoch’s digital paper for tablet computers, where he was managing editor.
“Every one of us has an obligation to push back when something seems wrong, even in the happy event that it may turn out to be right after all,” they said. “When the fairness, balance or integrity of our journalism is in question, we simply must ‘pipe up’ – to a colleague, a manager, or, if that doesn’t work, to one of us.”
Following is the full text of the memo:
The News Corp. scandal is not an occasion for self-satisfaction, at Reuters or anyplace else. That much should go without saying. Journalists everywhere have lost some of our innocence, again. However flagrant the ethical violations of News of the World, we flirt with disaster if we imagine it can’t happen here.
We are uniquely fortunate to have our Trust Principles, with their institutional protections for independence and integrity and their injunctions against bias and factional interest. We also have our Handbook, which exhorts us in specific ways to honor its “absolutes” of accuracy, transparency, rigorous sourcing and freedom from conflicts of interest. The Trust Principles and the Handbook have proven their uses in a thousand ways.
But they alone do not protect us. Every one of us has an obligation to push back when something seems wrong, even in the happy event that it may turn out to be right after all. When the fairness, balance or integrity of our journalism is in question, we simply must “pipe up” – to a colleague, a manager, or, if that doesn’t work, to one of us.
In a profession that requires us to pursue the truth wherever it leads us – whether into the teeth of controversy or cross-wise with authority and conventional wisdom – “this doesn’t seem ethical to me” may be the most important thing a journalist can say. We’re both happy to report that the evidence of our brief time here suggests this is widely understood at Reuters, but in the present circumstance it seemed to bear repeating.
Best regards,
Steve Adler and Jim Gaines
● SOURCE Reuters
● Trust Principles
● Handbook of Journalism
● Special Report - Inside Rebekah Brooks’ News of the World
Thomson Reuters again rated one of world’s most ethical companies
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Thomson Reuters has been recognised as one of the world’s most ethical companies for the fourth successive year.
The award is made by the Ethisphere Institute, a New York-based think tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.
“Thomson Reuters is dedicated to a comprehensive global Corporate Responsibility programme, at the heart of which is a strong ethical backbone”, said Deirdre Stanley, general counsel for Thomson Reuters. “At the heart of our business are the Trust Principles: committing all employees to uphold standards of integrity, independence and freedom from bias. These works alongside our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, providing principles and practical guidance for all staff.”
"As companies strive to maintain a competitive advantage, good ethics translate into better business, and better business means better bottom lines. Thomson Reuters recognizes the important role that principled practices play in brand reputation, which ultimately is the most valuable asset for a corporation," said Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere Institute.
● SOURCE Ethisphere
The award is made by the Ethisphere Institute, a New York-based think tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.
“Thomson Reuters is dedicated to a comprehensive global Corporate Responsibility programme, at the heart of which is a strong ethical backbone”, said Deirdre Stanley, general counsel for Thomson Reuters. “At the heart of our business are the Trust Principles: committing all employees to uphold standards of integrity, independence and freedom from bias. These works alongside our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, providing principles and practical guidance for all staff.”
"As companies strive to maintain a competitive advantage, good ethics translate into better business, and better business means better bottom lines. Thomson Reuters recognizes the important role that principled practices play in brand reputation, which ultimately is the most valuable asset for a corporation," said Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere Institute.
● SOURCE Ethisphere
Brazilian banker joins Founders Share Company
Friday 04 March 2011
Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company announced on Friday that Brazilian banker Pedro Malan has joined the board. He is the first director from South America.
Malan is a former president of the Brazilian central bank and a former minister of finance for Brazil. He is currently chairman of the international advisory board, Itaú Unibanco Holding in Brazil.
Pehr Gyllenhammar, chairman of the Founders Share Company, said, “We are pleased with the diversity of our board, now representing five continents.”
Directors of the Founders Share Company act as trustees of the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. These govern the way in which the company carries out business throughout the world.
The constitution of Thomson Reuters Corporation, ultimate parent company of the Thomson Reuters Group, includes provisions to safeguard the principles. Thomson Reuters has issued the Founders Share Company with a single founders share which enables it to restrict any shareholder action which threatens the principles.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
● The Trust Principles
Malan is a former president of the Brazilian central bank and a former minister of finance for Brazil. He is currently chairman of the international advisory board, Itaú Unibanco Holding in Brazil.
Pehr Gyllenhammar, chairman of the Founders Share Company, said, “We are pleased with the diversity of our board, now representing five continents.”
Directors of the Founders Share Company act as trustees of the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. These govern the way in which the company carries out business throughout the world.
The constitution of Thomson Reuters Corporation, ultimate parent company of the Thomson Reuters Group, includes provisions to safeguard the principles. Thomson Reuters has issued the Founders Share Company with a single founders share which enables it to restrict any shareholder action which threatens the principles.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
● The Trust Principles
CEO’s Goldman defence threatens Reuters objectivity - NY Guild
Wednesday 28 April 2010
“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
Reuters publishes social media rules for journalists
Wednesday 10 March 2010
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
News chief in Trust Principles pledge to staff after ‘minor uprising’
Friday 15 January 2010
Employees would be proud to hear how one of their executives handled hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen, the New York Post reported on Friday.
“At least, that's how Devin Wenig, CEO of the markets division, is telling it,” it said. As head of markets, Wenig leads the group’s global financial services and media businesses. If they could see a transcript of his call with the founder of SAC Capital Advisors in December, staffers would be pleased, Wenig told staff during a conference call on Wednesday, the Post said.
“The comments come on the heels of a minor uprising at the news agency, after reporters discovered that editors killed a story looking into Cohen's trades after the hedge funder called Wenig to complain,” it said in a report under the headline “Reuters CEO defense killed Cohen story”.
Reporters Matthew Goldstein and Svea Herbst-Bayliss have been looking into allegations that Cohen engaged in insider trading in the 1980s. After Cohen's complaint, Wenig called editor-in-chief David Schlesinger and the story was subsequently killed.
Wenig assured staff he would never jeopardise the company’s 150-year history or the Trust Principles, under which Reuters acts at all times with integrity, independence and freedom from bias, the Post said.
“Wenig also defended Schlesinger, saying he has 30 years of unblemished record under his belt. The CEO explained that he receives similar complaints at least once a week and always refers them to Schlesinger or the appropriate editor.”
In a conference call a week earlier, staff questioned Schlesinger about the spiked story. US media blogs characterised the call as tense and said the editor-in-chief faced down a string of angry and confused journalists demanding to know precisely why their boss spiked it. The episode was said to have severely demoralised staff.
Schlesinger denounced “false blog stories” accusing Reuters of caving in to a wealthy hedge fund manager and berated staff for “running to a blog and spreading[ing] tittle-tattle” instead of raising concerns internally. “Keep it within editorial, and don’t go running to a blog,” he was quoted as saying.
A Schlesinger e-mail to staff that found its way to blogs referred to journalists’ concern over the reports and said: “…never doubt the commitment of this company and of me to our Trust principles and journalistic ethics”.
● SOURCE New York Post
● Reuters Trust Principles
World trade chief appointed a Thomson Reuters trustee
Monday 07 December 2009
Founders Share Company directors act as trustees of the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles which govern the way Thomson Reuters Corporation conducts business.
Lamy, 62, began his career in the French civil service at the Inspection Générale des Finances and at the Treasury. He then became an advisor to the Finance Minister Jacques Delors, and, subsequently, to Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy. In Brussels between 1985 and 1994, he was chief of staff to the president of the European Commission, Jacques Delors, and later CEO of the restructured French bank Credit Lyonnais. He was also commissioner for trade at the European Commission under Romano Prodi and since September 2005 he has been director general at the WTO.
Pehr Gyllenhammar, chairman of the Founders Share Company, said, "I am delighted to welcome Mr Lamy to the Founders Share Company. I first worked with Mr Lamy when he was Chief of Staff to the President of the European Union, Mr Jacques Delors, and later when he was Commissioner for Trade at the European Commission and I am very much looking forward to working with him again. Mr Lamy will bring a wealth of invaluable global experience to our distinguished Board."
Lamy said, "I look forward to working with the members of the Board to help uphold the values of integrity, independence and freedom from bias contained within Thomson Reuters Trust Principles."
The constitution of Thomson Reuters Corporation, ultimate parent company of the Thomson Reuters Group, includes provisions to safeguard the Principles. Thomson Reuters has issued the Founders Share Company with a single Founders Share which enables it to block any shareholder action which threatens the Principles.
● SOURCE PR Newswire
News in the digital social media era, by Chris Cramer
Thursday 08 October 2009
Passive audiences are gone, the digital conversation is the future and convergence and the consumer are king, says Reuters' global multimedia editor Chris Cramer.
Chris Ahearn, president of Reuters media, calls it Journalism 3.0 – where stories by Reuters journalists are automatically linked to other, equally relevant stories and websites – with business models that can be all-inclusive.
“The media world is changing so rapidly and so quickly that many of us who work in it are almost overwhelmed by what’s going on, frequently frightened at the speed of change and frightened as well that we may be left behind,” Cramer says.
“Mostly everything has changed. For a start, we are no longer the gatekeepers of information. These days it seems that the whole world is a newsgatherer. Everywhere you look someone is holding a camera and shooting what’s around them.
“You can upload all that stuff to Facebook or to YouTube, add some commentary, and you have potential access to millions of people overnight. You can become the brand.”
Social media trades in information of first resort — raw, unfiltered and there for the taking. This new electronic dialogue, the online conversation, is here to stay and it has enormous power, as a much more targeted approach than anything we have been exposed to, Cramer says.
How does the traditional news and information business adapt in the era of social media?
Reuters holds true to the Reuters Trust Principles and the firm belief that editorial trust and integrity make a much stronger business.
“We think that customers, end users, place a true value against these qualities, which is why when we make mistakes — and we do – we are quick to own up to those. to explain how they happened, to put guidelines in place to ensure they don’t happen again,” he says.
“So we are very excited by social media becoming the newsgathering of first resort – but also wary that everything we find there needs to be validated, checked and checked again before it goes out in our name.
“Far from being despondent about ceding our status as a major information provider, we believe that new and stronger business models will come from curating global information, filtering it, editing and placing it in context.
“We think the future of successful journalism is to produce information, intelligent information that matters to people and has context — news that enhances their lives, news that has a point and a relevance, and news that remains a good business model.”
Cramer, who joined Reuters last year, was speaking at the annual conference of the UK Association of Online Publishers in London on 7 October.
● SOURCE Reuters
● Chris Cramer's speech to the Association of Online Publishers annual conference
Chris Ahearn, president of Reuters media, calls it Journalism 3.0 – where stories by Reuters journalists are automatically linked to other, equally relevant stories and websites – with business models that can be all-inclusive.
“The media world is changing so rapidly and so quickly that many of us who work in it are almost overwhelmed by what’s going on, frequently frightened at the speed of change and frightened as well that we may be left behind,” Cramer says.
“Mostly everything has changed. For a start, we are no longer the gatekeepers of information. These days it seems that the whole world is a newsgatherer. Everywhere you look someone is holding a camera and shooting what’s around them.
“You can upload all that stuff to Facebook or to YouTube, add some commentary, and you have potential access to millions of people overnight. You can become the brand.”
Social media trades in information of first resort — raw, unfiltered and there for the taking. This new electronic dialogue, the online conversation, is here to stay and it has enormous power, as a much more targeted approach than anything we have been exposed to, Cramer says.
How does the traditional news and information business adapt in the era of social media?
Reuters holds true to the Reuters Trust Principles and the firm belief that editorial trust and integrity make a much stronger business.
“We think that customers, end users, place a true value against these qualities, which is why when we make mistakes — and we do – we are quick to own up to those. to explain how they happened, to put guidelines in place to ensure they don’t happen again,” he says.
“So we are very excited by social media becoming the newsgathering of first resort – but also wary that everything we find there needs to be validated, checked and checked again before it goes out in our name.
“Far from being despondent about ceding our status as a major information provider, we believe that new and stronger business models will come from curating global information, filtering it, editing and placing it in context.
“We think the future of successful journalism is to produce information, intelligent information that matters to people and has context — news that enhances their lives, news that has a point and a relevance, and news that remains a good business model.”
Cramer, who joined Reuters last year, was speaking at the annual conference of the UK Association of Online Publishers in London on 7 October.
● SOURCE Reuters
● Chris Cramer's speech to the Association of Online Publishers annual conference
Reuters trustees to continue after de-listing
Wednesday 22 July 2009
Directors of Reuters Founders Share Company take a vigorous and active interest in Thomson Reuters and in editorial and will continue after the company ends its listing on the London Stock Exchange, editor-in-chief David Schlesinger said on Wednesday.
Concern had been raised that the Founders Share directors, known as trustees, would lose their power.
“There is a very interesting and immensely important statement in the management information circular about the changing share structure of Thomson Reuters,” Michael Reupke, former editor-in-chief and general manager, said.
“That statement is: ‘Thomson Reuters will seek to redeem and cancel the Reuters Founders share in the capital of Thomson Reuters PLC.’ That share is the only tool the directors of the Founders Share Company, whom we used to refer to as the trustees, have to do anything whatever,” he wrote in a letter to The Baron.
“I hope I can set a predecessor's mind at ease,” Schlesinger responded. “When Thomson Reuters was created, it was created as a dual listed company. Thomson Reuters Corp is domiciled in Toronto and Thomson Reuters PLC has been in London. There has been one Reuters Founders Share in each of the two companies. Obviously if one of the two companies in the dual structure goes away so too will its founders share, but the other remains. I can assure all that from my perspective as Editor-in-Chief, the current Reuters Founders Share Company directors take a vigorous and active interest in the company and in editorial. That interest and engagement has, if anything, increased in the months before and after the consummation of the deal, particularly if I compare it to, say, a decade earlier.”
Shareholder meetings on unifying Thomson Reuters’ dual-listed company structure are scheduled to take place in Toronto and London on 7 August.
CEO Tom Glocer said last month the company’s decision to end its stock exchange listing in London and on NASDAQ in New York would not affect the operations, customers, strategy or financial position of the business.
“Unification would benefit shareholders by creating a single deep, global pool of liquidity and a simpler, more transparent capital structure,” he told staff.
“Our shares are currently listed on four different stock exchanges [London, New York, NASDAQ and Toronto], which has fragmented the trading in our shares and deterred certain large global investors from buying our shares. Unification would also reduce costs and complexity across the company.
“Our commitment to customers, employees and other stakeholders in London, the United Kingdom and Europe is unchanged by where we list our shares. London is a vital global capital for the markets we serve and home to more than 5,000 of our employees.
“The Founders Share Company has indicated it will support unification as this will in no way diminish our adherence to the Reuters Trust Principles.”
Concern had been raised that the Founders Share directors, known as trustees, would lose their power.
“There is a very interesting and immensely important statement in the management information circular about the changing share structure of Thomson Reuters,” Michael Reupke, former editor-in-chief and general manager, said.
“That statement is: ‘Thomson Reuters will seek to redeem and cancel the Reuters Founders share in the capital of Thomson Reuters PLC.’ That share is the only tool the directors of the Founders Share Company, whom we used to refer to as the trustees, have to do anything whatever,” he wrote in a letter to The Baron.
“I hope I can set a predecessor's mind at ease,” Schlesinger responded. “When Thomson Reuters was created, it was created as a dual listed company. Thomson Reuters Corp is domiciled in Toronto and Thomson Reuters PLC has been in London. There has been one Reuters Founders Share in each of the two companies. Obviously if one of the two companies in the dual structure goes away so too will its founders share, but the other remains. I can assure all that from my perspective as Editor-in-Chief, the current Reuters Founders Share Company directors take a vigorous and active interest in the company and in editorial. That interest and engagement has, if anything, increased in the months before and after the consummation of the deal, particularly if I compare it to, say, a decade earlier.”
Shareholder meetings on unifying Thomson Reuters’ dual-listed company structure are scheduled to take place in Toronto and London on 7 August.
CEO Tom Glocer said last month the company’s decision to end its stock exchange listing in London and on NASDAQ in New York would not affect the operations, customers, strategy or financial position of the business.
“Unification would benefit shareholders by creating a single deep, global pool of liquidity and a simpler, more transparent capital structure,” he told staff.
“Our shares are currently listed on four different stock exchanges [London, New York, NASDAQ and Toronto], which has fragmented the trading in our shares and deterred certain large global investors from buying our shares. Unification would also reduce costs and complexity across the company.
“Our commitment to customers, employees and other stakeholders in London, the United Kingdom and Europe is unchanged by where we list our shares. London is a vital global capital for the markets we serve and home to more than 5,000 of our employees.
“The Founders Share Company has indicated it will support unification as this will in no way diminish our adherence to the Reuters Trust Principles.”
Facebook, Twitter and the Trust Principles: a guide
Wednesday 03 June 2009
Reuters is developing guidelines for how its journalists interact with social media like Facebook and Twitter. The Trust Principles, drafted in 1941, are at the heart of the rules for the new 21st century media.
These are the guidelines:
● If Reuters journalists want to use Twitter or social media as part of their professional role they should seek the permission of their manager.
● If Reuters journalists use Twitter professionally they should use the word “Reuters” in the name of their streams or somewhere else on the page.
● The Trust Principles apply to Twitter and social media – journalists should do nothing that compromises them.
● Microblogging and use of social media tend to blur the distinction between professional and personal lives: When using Twitter or social media in a professional capacity Reuters journalists should aim to be personable but not to include irrelevant material about their personal lives.
The Trust Principles were created in the midst of World War II with the express purpose of preserving Reuters’ independence, integrity and freedom from bias. When Reuters merged with Thomson in April 2008 they were adopted by the combined company.
Dean Wright, global editor, ethics, innovation and news standards, pondering the question “Are we too connected?” says that in recent days and weeks he’s been wondering whether our mobile phones, Blackberries, text messaging and constant access to e-mail and social media have brought us too close together for our own good.
“Or maybe the quality of our connected life is only as good as the information we share.”
Wright wonders whether this “me, me, me” quality of Facebook and Twitter is just an early evolutionary stage of something smarter and more useful. “There are some encouraging signs – and that’s a good thing, because we’re becoming ever more connected,” he says.
How connected are we?
“At Reuters, we’re using Reuters Messenger to build chat rooms in which our journalists can expand their conversation with the marketplace through informal, dynamic interactions with a group of engaged financial news clients on our terminals.
“We’re also using Twitter in some intriguing ways:
● “Specialist journalists use it to share articles and build up a following.
● “Online editorial staff and bloggers use Twitter to distribute news and solicit reader comment.
● “Journalists are using Twitter during live events like the World Economic Forum at Davos (editor-in-chief David Schlesinger used it to break news there earlier this year) and to solicit questions for newsmaker interviews.
“There are huge implications for those of us in the news media as we try to reach an increasingly fragmented and distracted audience awash in information, some of it wanted and much of it not.
“And journalists who work and live in the digital world (and that’s just about all of us now) will find that there is little or no difference between our professional and private personae in the wide-open world of social media.”
In an e-mail to editorial staff, Schlesinger said “whether we like it or not, our online identities are inextricably linked with our workplace identities…Things we do online could very easily taint our journalistic activity. If one of us self-identifies as ‘very liberal’ politically, it may well be the truth, but would advertising it simply feed the myth that journalists in general have a liberal bias?”
“The easiest rule,” Schlesinger cautioned, “is to stop, think and imagine: How would you feel and how would you react if someone made your Facebook page or blog or online comment a story? Could you defend your objectivity? Could Reuters defend having you on the beat you’re on? Could your reputation, and ours, survive someone making an issue of it?”
Wright added: “I’m sure neither Schlesinger nor I have had the last word on the relationship of journalism and social media, nor on whether we’re all too connected. What we need to pay attention to is the quality of those connections.”
● SOURCE Reuters
● Trust Principles
These are the guidelines:
● If Reuters journalists want to use Twitter or social media as part of their professional role they should seek the permission of their manager.
● If Reuters journalists use Twitter professionally they should use the word “Reuters” in the name of their streams or somewhere else on the page.
● The Trust Principles apply to Twitter and social media – journalists should do nothing that compromises them.
● Microblogging and use of social media tend to blur the distinction between professional and personal lives: When using Twitter or social media in a professional capacity Reuters journalists should aim to be personable but not to include irrelevant material about their personal lives.
The Trust Principles were created in the midst of World War II with the express purpose of preserving Reuters’ independence, integrity and freedom from bias. When Reuters merged with Thomson in April 2008 they were adopted by the combined company.
Dean Wright, global editor, ethics, innovation and news standards, pondering the question “Are we too connected?” says that in recent days and weeks he’s been wondering whether our mobile phones, Blackberries, text messaging and constant access to e-mail and social media have brought us too close together for our own good.
“Or maybe the quality of our connected life is only as good as the information we share.”
Wright wonders whether this “me, me, me” quality of Facebook and Twitter is just an early evolutionary stage of something smarter and more useful. “There are some encouraging signs – and that’s a good thing, because we’re becoming ever more connected,” he says.
How connected are we?
“At Reuters, we’re using Reuters Messenger to build chat rooms in which our journalists can expand their conversation with the marketplace through informal, dynamic interactions with a group of engaged financial news clients on our terminals.
“We’re also using Twitter in some intriguing ways:
● “Specialist journalists use it to share articles and build up a following.
● “Online editorial staff and bloggers use Twitter to distribute news and solicit reader comment.
● “Journalists are using Twitter during live events like the World Economic Forum at Davos (editor-in-chief David Schlesinger used it to break news there earlier this year) and to solicit questions for newsmaker interviews.
“There are huge implications for those of us in the news media as we try to reach an increasingly fragmented and distracted audience awash in information, some of it wanted and much of it not.
“And journalists who work and live in the digital world (and that’s just about all of us now) will find that there is little or no difference between our professional and private personae in the wide-open world of social media.”
In an e-mail to editorial staff, Schlesinger said “whether we like it or not, our online identities are inextricably linked with our workplace identities…Things we do online could very easily taint our journalistic activity. If one of us self-identifies as ‘very liberal’ politically, it may well be the truth, but would advertising it simply feed the myth that journalists in general have a liberal bias?”
“The easiest rule,” Schlesinger cautioned, “is to stop, think and imagine: How would you feel and how would you react if someone made your Facebook page or blog or online comment a story? Could you defend your objectivity? Could Reuters defend having you on the beat you’re on? Could your reputation, and ours, survive someone making an issue of it?”
Wright added: “I’m sure neither Schlesinger nor I have had the last word on the relationship of journalism and social media, nor on whether we’re all too connected. What we need to pay attention to is the quality of those connections.”
● SOURCE Reuters
● Trust Principles
Foundation expands its activities, opens new web portal
Thursday 28 May 2009
The Thomson Reuters Foundation is expanding to reflect the activities and larger scope of the combined business.
The company’s charitable arm has acquired the web address www.trust.org to reflect the importance of the Trust Principles and built a new portal for the Foundation’s three key areas of focus – the rule of law, humanitarian information and journalism training.
The Foundation’s three main programmes – and the communities that bring them to life – will find a home on the new website, says Foundation CEO Monique Villa (pictured). These programmes are TrustLaw, Trust AlertNet (and its associated Emergency Information Service) and Trust Media.
● Trust Media, flagship of the old Reuters Foundation, is all about training journalists around the world to the highest standards – everything from business reporting in Africa or Eastern Europe to multimedia coverage of crises around the world. Also under Trust Media's wing is the Reuters Oxford Institute, the Foundation’s partnership with Oxford University, which is dedicated to the study of journalism and its ongoing challenges in the 21st century.
● Trust AlertNet is the world's premier website on humanitarian issues. Covering conflicts, natural disasters and health emergencies, it has 10 million users a year. It has also built up an alliance of more than 400 non-governmental organisations engaged in relief work around the world. The Foundation is developing the Emergency Information Service to support survivors of major earthquakes, cyclones and other natural disasters with potentially life-saving information. From SMS text messages to megaphones and bulletin boards, it will use the best means possible to reach communities left in the dark. The project stems from the conviction that information in itself is a form of aid, exactly as crucial as blankets or tarpaulins.
● TrustLaw, the Foundation’s newest project, will be born at the end of this year. It is based on a simple but ambitious goal: to create an international hub for the practice of pro bono legal work. The idea is to match those in need of legal expertise with those willing to give it at no cost to the client. Just as AlertNet offers news, information and a community space for professionals from the humanitarian aid world, TrustLaw will serve as a forum for lawyers, accountants, judges, journalists, governments and NGOs focusing on specific areas of the law such as good governance and anti-corruption. The website will offer news and information as well as a database of law, best practices, policies and procedures and country background reports.
“Whether you are a Thomson Reuters employee, a client, a Foundation partner or a member of the public, www.trust.org will be an open door to getting involved,” Villa said in a message circulated within the company. “The full-blown new website will be launched at the end of this year but you can already get a feel and find out a little more about what the Foundation is up to and how it is already making a difference to those who have much less than many of us. The first issue of our quarterly Your Foundation newsletter is now on the site and a good place to learn more.
“I know that the Thomson Reuters Foundation is going to be remarkable. It will be pioneering and it will reflect the amazing skills, experiences, passion and dedication of our business and the people who work in it. In the months to come there will be lots of ways to hear more and get involved – through town halls, our new quarterly newsletter and through our network of Foundation ‘Champions’.
“I have been hugely inspired working with the Foundation team in bringing this to life, and I hope the Foundation will not only reflect our great businesses but also serve as a source of pride to all of you.”
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters Foundation
The company’s charitable arm has acquired the web address www.trust.org to reflect the importance of the Trust Principles and built a new portal for the Foundation’s three key areas of focus – the rule of law, humanitarian information and journalism training.
The Foundation’s three main programmes – and the communities that bring them to life – will find a home on the new website, says Foundation CEO Monique Villa (pictured). These programmes are TrustLaw, Trust AlertNet (and its associated Emergency Information Service) and Trust Media.
● Trust Media, flagship of the old Reuters Foundation, is all about training journalists around the world to the highest standards – everything from business reporting in Africa or Eastern Europe to multimedia coverage of crises around the world. Also under Trust Media's wing is the Reuters Oxford Institute, the Foundation’s partnership with Oxford University, which is dedicated to the study of journalism and its ongoing challenges in the 21st century.
● Trust AlertNet is the world's premier website on humanitarian issues. Covering conflicts, natural disasters and health emergencies, it has 10 million users a year. It has also built up an alliance of more than 400 non-governmental organisations engaged in relief work around the world. The Foundation is developing the Emergency Information Service to support survivors of major earthquakes, cyclones and other natural disasters with potentially life-saving information. From SMS text messages to megaphones and bulletin boards, it will use the best means possible to reach communities left in the dark. The project stems from the conviction that information in itself is a form of aid, exactly as crucial as blankets or tarpaulins.
● TrustLaw, the Foundation’s newest project, will be born at the end of this year. It is based on a simple but ambitious goal: to create an international hub for the practice of pro bono legal work. The idea is to match those in need of legal expertise with those willing to give it at no cost to the client. Just as AlertNet offers news, information and a community space for professionals from the humanitarian aid world, TrustLaw will serve as a forum for lawyers, accountants, judges, journalists, governments and NGOs focusing on specific areas of the law such as good governance and anti-corruption. The website will offer news and information as well as a database of law, best practices, policies and procedures and country background reports.
“Whether you are a Thomson Reuters employee, a client, a Foundation partner or a member of the public, www.trust.org will be an open door to getting involved,” Villa said in a message circulated within the company. “The full-blown new website will be launched at the end of this year but you can already get a feel and find out a little more about what the Foundation is up to and how it is already making a difference to those who have much less than many of us. The first issue of our quarterly Your Foundation newsletter is now on the site and a good place to learn more.
“I know that the Thomson Reuters Foundation is going to be remarkable. It will be pioneering and it will reflect the amazing skills, experiences, passion and dedication of our business and the people who work in it. In the months to come there will be lots of ways to hear more and get involved – through town halls, our new quarterly newsletter and through our network of Foundation ‘Champions’.
“I have been hugely inspired working with the Foundation team in bringing this to life, and I hope the Foundation will not only reflect our great businesses but also serve as a source of pride to all of you.”
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters Foundation
David Schlesinger: all a-twitter and scooping Reuters
Friday 30 January 2009
Editor-in-chief David Schlesinger has started a debate over his twitterings.
“I’ve been tweeting from the World Economic Forum, using the microblogging platform Twitter to discuss the mundane (describing crepuscular darkness of the Swiss Alps at 5 a.m.) or the interesting (live tweeting from presentations),” he writes on the Reuters blog Full Disclosure: Ethics, Innovation and News Standards.
The scoop? Beating Reuters from Davos on news that billionaire financier George Soros believes the current economic downturn could be worse than the Great Depression, and that as much as $15 trillion might be needed to save the banking system.
“Is it journalism?
“Is it dangerous?
“Is it embarrassing that my tweets even beat the Reuters newswires?
(Tweets are Internet messages limited by the technology to 140 characters.)
“Am I destroying Reuters standards by encouraging tweeting or blogging?” Schlesinger asks.
“(These aren’t rhetorical questions - I’ve been challenged by many people who would answer those questions as No, Yes, Yes, and Yes! I answer them as Yes, Potentially, No and No.)”
Schlesinger recalls that the foundation of what Reuters does as a company and as a news service are the Reuters Trust Principles.
“While it is vital to read the five as a whole, I take the fifth (”That no effort shall be spared to expand, develop and adapt the news and other services and products of Thomson Reuters so as to maintain its leading position in the international news and information business”) as an imperative for continual innovation and experimentation.
“I have no idea what journalism will look like in five years except that it will be different than it is now. That’s a great thing, I believe.
“I have little patience for those who cling to sentimental (and frankly inaccurate) memories of the good old halcyon days of journalism that were somehow purer and better than a world where tweets and blogs compete with news wires and newspapers.
“Bring it on, I say!”
Schlesinger says working for Reuters gives him a tremendous platform and great access. “It does not give me a license.”
Microblogging and macroblogging and social networks are themselves great platforms.
“If great storytellers use those platforms to display their knowledge, access, expertise and abilities, I think that is a marvellous advance.
“If I don’t beat the Reuters wire with a live tweet because I deliberately hold back, someone else will. If I don’t beat the Reuters wire because I’m slow or inattentive, someone else will.
“The reason my live tweeting was fast is that it was unintermediated, while the journalist covering the story went the traditional route and had a discussion with an editor about how best to position and play the story.
“Both methods have important roles. In this case, the editor added value.
“In a democratic world where publishing platforms are available to all, editors and institutions like Reuters MUST add great value if they are to survive the competitive fight with the unintermediated storytellers.
“I love that.
“I love the competitive pressure that brings.
“I love the way it will force us continually to redefine our role vis-a-vis unaffiliated storytellers.
“I love the way it is and will continue to force us to redefine our profession and our craft.
“Are there potential pitfalls and dangers? Could a mistweet hurt our reputation? Of course. And over time we will have to work hard to decide what we have reporters tweet in their own names and what we have them do in the company name; we’ll have to refine our rules about micro and macroblogging to allow the maximum of free expression while holding fast to our important values of being fair, accurate and free from bias.
“But we will get there. And consumers of news will be the ultimate beneficiaries.”
Bravo, David, says Silicon Alley Insider, another blog. “Reuters and other newswires have made their names and their fortunes by being first with the news — now anyone who is at a news event has the equivalent of a newswire in their pocket, thanks to cellphones, Twitter, and other social-media tools. Does that make them journalists? Possibly. But best of all, ‘real’ journalists can make use of all those tools too.”
● SOURCE Reuters | Silicon Alley Insider
“I’ve been tweeting from the World Economic Forum, using the microblogging platform Twitter to discuss the mundane (describing crepuscular darkness of the Swiss Alps at 5 a.m.) or the interesting (live tweeting from presentations),” he writes on the Reuters blog Full Disclosure: Ethics, Innovation and News Standards.
The scoop? Beating Reuters from Davos on news that billionaire financier George Soros believes the current economic downturn could be worse than the Great Depression, and that as much as $15 trillion might be needed to save the banking system.
“Is it journalism?
“Is it dangerous?
“Is it embarrassing that my tweets even beat the Reuters newswires?
(Tweets are Internet messages limited by the technology to 140 characters.)
“Am I destroying Reuters standards by encouraging tweeting or blogging?” Schlesinger asks.
“(These aren’t rhetorical questions - I’ve been challenged by many people who would answer those questions as No, Yes, Yes, and Yes! I answer them as Yes, Potentially, No and No.)”
Schlesinger recalls that the foundation of what Reuters does as a company and as a news service are the Reuters Trust Principles.
“While it is vital to read the five as a whole, I take the fifth (”That no effort shall be spared to expand, develop and adapt the news and other services and products of Thomson Reuters so as to maintain its leading position in the international news and information business”) as an imperative for continual innovation and experimentation.
“I have no idea what journalism will look like in five years except that it will be different than it is now. That’s a great thing, I believe.
“I have little patience for those who cling to sentimental (and frankly inaccurate) memories of the good old halcyon days of journalism that were somehow purer and better than a world where tweets and blogs compete with news wires and newspapers.
“Bring it on, I say!”
Schlesinger says working for Reuters gives him a tremendous platform and great access. “It does not give me a license.”
Microblogging and macroblogging and social networks are themselves great platforms.
“If great storytellers use those platforms to display their knowledge, access, expertise and abilities, I think that is a marvellous advance.
“If I don’t beat the Reuters wire with a live tweet because I deliberately hold back, someone else will. If I don’t beat the Reuters wire because I’m slow or inattentive, someone else will.
“The reason my live tweeting was fast is that it was unintermediated, while the journalist covering the story went the traditional route and had a discussion with an editor about how best to position and play the story.
“Both methods have important roles. In this case, the editor added value.
“In a democratic world where publishing platforms are available to all, editors and institutions like Reuters MUST add great value if they are to survive the competitive fight with the unintermediated storytellers.
“I love that.
“I love the competitive pressure that brings.
“I love the way it will force us continually to redefine our role vis-a-vis unaffiliated storytellers.
“I love the way it is and will continue to force us to redefine our profession and our craft.
“Are there potential pitfalls and dangers? Could a mistweet hurt our reputation? Of course. And over time we will have to work hard to decide what we have reporters tweet in their own names and what we have them do in the company name; we’ll have to refine our rules about micro and macroblogging to allow the maximum of free expression while holding fast to our important values of being fair, accurate and free from bias.
“But we will get there. And consumers of news will be the ultimate beneficiaries.”
Bravo, David, says Silicon Alley Insider, another blog. “Reuters and other newswires have made their names and their fortunes by being first with the news — now anyone who is at a news event has the equivalent of a newswire in their pocket, thanks to cellphones, Twitter, and other social-media tools. Does that make them journalists? Possibly. But best of all, ‘real’ journalists can make use of all those tools too.”
● SOURCE Reuters | Silicon Alley Insider
Shares ‘tale of two cities’ - Tom Glocer
Tuesday 12 August 2008
Thomson Reuters is looking into ways of reducing the widening discount in its share price on opposite sides of the Atlantic, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The discount widened after the price fell 5 per cent in London but rose 1.5 per cent in New York on Tuesday’s slightly downbeat second quarter results, it said.
Chief executive Tom Glocer said he was puzzled by the continued London discount and he was looking to reduce the gap, the newspaper reported.
“It’s a tale of two cities,” he said. “The North American investors know the professional side of the business well, and have got their heads around the markets division, but then in London, we trade at around a 20 per cent discount.”
The discount was at 19.5 per cent today. The shares closed at 1481 pence, down 77, in London, and $34.98 (1840 pence) in late trading in New York.
“It is a bit puzzling why there is such a large discount as a share in one place is exactly economically equal to another,” Glocer said.
He acknowledged that US investors are buying shares in London purely to get a discount. “That’s something we’re looking at when we repurchase shares,” Glocer said. Thomson Reuters has just completed a $500 share buyback programme.
The Daily Telegraph said Glocer played down concerns about the company’s growth rate, saying that to achieve 7 per cent “12 months into this serious financial crisis” looks like “a very good number to us”. Growth will temper but it will not “fall off a cliff the way it did in 2002-03”, he added.
The newspaper noted that the markets division, whose main business is providing financial news, data feeds and trading platforms to financial institutions, has recently introduced commentary and analysis articles by journalists.
“Mr Glocer defended the move, saying it was not at odds with the Reuters Trust principles of independence and freedom from bias.
“He said the analysis pieces would look into specific situations, and were in response to customer demand for views as well as news.”
● SOURCE The Daily Telegraph
The discount widened after the price fell 5 per cent in London but rose 1.5 per cent in New York on Tuesday’s slightly downbeat second quarter results, it said.
Chief executive Tom Glocer said he was puzzled by the continued London discount and he was looking to reduce the gap, the newspaper reported.
“It’s a tale of two cities,” he said. “The North American investors know the professional side of the business well, and have got their heads around the markets division, but then in London, we trade at around a 20 per cent discount.”
The discount was at 19.5 per cent today. The shares closed at 1481 pence, down 77, in London, and $34.98 (1840 pence) in late trading in New York.
“It is a bit puzzling why there is such a large discount as a share in one place is exactly economically equal to another,” Glocer said.
He acknowledged that US investors are buying shares in London purely to get a discount. “That’s something we’re looking at when we repurchase shares,” Glocer said. Thomson Reuters has just completed a $500 share buyback programme.
The Daily Telegraph said Glocer played down concerns about the company’s growth rate, saying that to achieve 7 per cent “12 months into this serious financial crisis” looks like “a very good number to us”. Growth will temper but it will not “fall off a cliff the way it did in 2002-03”, he added.
The newspaper noted that the markets division, whose main business is providing financial news, data feeds and trading platforms to financial institutions, has recently introduced commentary and analysis articles by journalists.
“Mr Glocer defended the move, saying it was not at odds with the Reuters Trust principles of independence and freedom from bias.
“He said the analysis pieces would look into specific situations, and were in response to customer demand for views as well as news.”
● SOURCE The Daily Telegraph
