DHAKA: A senior Bloomberg News journalist quit his role earlier this month, saying the "mishandling" by his bosses of a story critical of China was behind his departure, amid suggestions that the New York-based company is pushing a financial strategy for China that overshadows editorial autonomy.
Asia Editor-at-Large Ben Richardson left the news organization at the beginning of March in protest at his senior colleagues` approach toward a long-running investigative piece that sought to expose hidden financial ties between the families of Chinese officials and a wealthy businessman. The New York Times, amongst others, first covered the story of the piece`s non-publishing in November of last year, report the CNN.
In an email to the newspaper, quoted in the initial article, Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler said the piece was "active" and that it had not been killed.
However, since then it has remained unpublished and, speaking to CNN Thursday, Richardson said that, while what he can say is limited by a confidentiality agreement, he could "categorically state that it (the story) was spiked."
"No work is currently being done on that story," he said. "The primary reporter has left the company ... it`s a risible excuse to say that the story is just resting."
Despite requests on a number of occasions, Bloomberg declined to comment on this story when contacted by CNN, or agree to requests for an interview with Winkler.
`Misleading statements`
The piece, which was produced over several months in 2013, was due to be published late last year but "ran into some opposition" from senior staff, according to Richardson. The initial New York Times article cited journalists who worked on the story and participated in a conference call as saying Winkler informed them that a decision not to publish the story had been made.
Winkler reportedly told the journalists -- Richardson included -- working on the story that it was necessary to stay on the right side of Chinese officials, given that several reporters from organizations including Al Jazeera and the New York Times along with Bloomberg, had had their visas withheld or rejected -- apparently following reports critical of Beijing.
Subsequently, the story`s lead journalist, Michael Forsythe, left the company. Forsythe declined to comment when contacted by CNN.
In an email to media blog JimRomenesko.com, published earlier this week, Richardson wrote: "I left Bloomberg because of the way the story was mishandled, and because of how the company made misleading statements in the global press and senior executives disparaged the team that worked so hard to execute an incredibly demanding story.
"The reporters who worked on the story for months didn`t get to review the copy before it was unilaterally spiked on a conference call with a ludicrous amount of top brass."
Unlike many news organizations, Bloomberg has alternate revenue streams. Bloomberg L.P., Bloomberg News` parent company`s financial terminals are sold in China. Currently, the number of subscribers in the country, estimated by the China Law and Policy blog at 3,000, is dwarfed by those in other parts of the world, meaning that there is considerable scope for growth. When asked about the subscriber numbers, a Bloomberg spokesperson told CNN that the company could not confirm subscriber numbers for individual territories.
The timely, accurate access to Chinese financial data is also considered to be an important part of the company`s success, enhancing its legitimacy as a provider of financial data worldwide.
BDST: 0930 HRS, MAR 29, 2014
