Mark Thompson, the CEO of the New York Times Co., poked rival Bloomberg News on Wednesday at a media conference when asked about the latter’s decision not to publish stories critical of people connected to the Chinese government for fear of hurting its business.
Matthew Garrahan of the Financial Times writes, “Mr Thompson was speaking days after Peter Grauer said Bloomberg ‘should have rethought’ investigative articles about China because of the potential harm to the company’s business information operation in the country.
“‘We don’t think you need to rethink investigative journalism,’ he added. ‘There are commercial realities…but it depends on what your priorities are.’
“The New York Times and Bloomberg have both been penalised by the Chinese authorities over investigative articles that have focused on the wealth accumulated by the families of senior members of the ruling Communist party.
“Fewer visas have been given to journalists at the two companies while sales of Bloomberg terminals in China declined after a 2012 article that explored the family wealth of Xi Jinping, China’s president.”
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