Guy Faulconbridge leaves Reuters, salutes colleagues

Faulconbridge joined Reuters in Moscow 22 years ago and has reported on Russia and the CIS for a total of 14 years, previously having worked there for Bloomberg. 

He was also UK Bureau Chief for 10 years, delivering one of Reuters historic wins with the first news of the Brexit vote in 2016.

In his farewell message to colleagues, Faulconbridge said: “It seems to me that the best Reuters journalists are humble artists of truth; they are passionate about delivering the news accurately, without bias and as fast as possible.

“I hope you keep telling it the way it is despite the Dementors, despite the princes and the plutocrats, and despite the propagandists who steer the narrative on all sides of the new Cold War.”

He said that he had learned to be wary of the “currents of consensus” in journalism, which were often wrong, and bemoaned journalistic failures in coverage of Iraq, Afghanistan, China, Russia, Donald Trump, Brexit, Covid, Joe Biden, Ukraine and Iran.

“The simple acceptance that the world is much larger than Washington or London - perhaps your global diversity - is your strength in an increasingly provincial and violent world,” he told his colleagues.

He added: “At the end of the day, people pay Reuters for breaking news in all its forms. And breaking news is about passion, talent, preparation, and sourcing.”

He expressed pride in the scoops from Moscow delivered by teamwork, deep sourcing and courage, and also of Brexit – “probably the biggest human snapping operation in news agency history”.

“Working with some of the smartest, and at times perhaps some of the quirkiest people in the world, is a special kind of drug. But it is time for me to kick this exquisite addiction,” he wrote.

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