OLD Media Moves

Culture shock coming for BW employees

October 15, 2009

Jay Yarow of The Business Insider writes about the vast cultural differences between the Bloomberg newsroom and the BusinessWeek offices.

Yarow writes, “Quaintly referred to as a journalistic sweatshop many years ago in the pages of BusinessWeek, Bloomberg LP is a radically different beast than the relaxed world of cubicles and hallway chats BusinessWeek staffers enjoy.

“Bloomberg’s office is designed to replicate a trading floor. It’s wide open, and the employees sit elbow to elbow. Famously, there are no offices for the bosses. They sit right alongside everyone else. Even conference rooms are open for all to see, with glass instead of solid walls.

“At BusinessWeek, there’s big cubicles, corner offices and conference rooms with solid walls.

“Bloomberg’s employees often silently chat through instant messaging on their terminals. There’s also a Big Brother feel to the organization, according to various employees. Phones and email communication are treated as company property, with Bloomberg able to read all messages.”

Read more here.

Subscribe to TBN

Receive updates about new stories in the industry daily or weekly.

Subscribe to TBN

Receive updates about new stories in the industry.