Bloomberg’s Keene on covering Davos

Business journalists from the top media organizations — The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Reuters, the Associated Press, CNBC and Fox Business Network, for example — are in Davos, Switzerland, this week to cover the World Economic Forum.

Among them is Tom Keene, host of “Bloomberg Surveillance” on Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio, who is spending his 12th year reporting live from the World Economic Forum.

He’ll be interviewing newsmakers live on Surveillance from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Bloomberg Television and 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Bloomberg Radio.

In addition, Bloomberg Television has sent Francine Lacqua and Jonathan Ferro from London, Stephanie Ruhle, David Westin and Erik Schatzker from New York, and Hans Nichols from Berlin. Joe Weisenthal is also there to oversee content for Bloomberg Markets.

The Bloomberg Photos team will also be capturing shots, and Bloomberg Brief will be publishing a dedicated live brief, which will be free to access via the web.

Keene spoke by email with Talking Biz News about covering Davos. What follows is an edited transcript.

How do you prepare for covering Davos?

I prepare for Davos by not looking at the agenda. After a few years, you figure out that Davos makes its own agenda and then, critically, the agenda changes in the vicinity of 4 p.m. Thursday. Mostly, my executive producer Rachel Wehrspann and the Surveillance team prepare by just doing what we do every day: reading research.

Since this is your 12th time, how can your coverage be different than previous times?

Davos has changed. By far the biggest change is leading CEOs are buried in endless meetings and have precious time for sessions and interviews. The hardest thing to convey is the real work that goes on. Davos is more and more business and less and less
leisure.

How much do you line up interviews beforehand vs. grabbing people?

We don’t grab people. We have too much respect for our guests’ time. Our biggest advantage is Surveillance guests know how much we value their insight and that we will try do to the smartest interview we can. Easily six out of 10 guests return year after year.

When you’re not on the air, what are you doing?

Sleep. Actually the biggest battle is food. Davos is the land of hors d’oeuvre. (Francine insists there is no ‘s’ on the oeuvre.) JPMorgan has the best hors d’oeuvre. Jacob Frenkel, chairman of JPMorgan International, is always sure I get my fair share.

Tori is in charge of food for Bloomberg. Lunch outside the Radio studio is brought in from Brasserie Lipp in Zurich.

What kind of news gets broken at Davos?

Great and important question. Answer: not much. Davos is about conversation and insight. Klaus Schwab and all of the World Economic Forum have invented and nurtured the best conversation platform in the world.

What’s been the best interview from your past coverage? Why?

There have been too many. Without question, the January 2008 meeting. The truth is the best conversations are in hallways, at the piano bar and in the quiet of the night as smart people assess crisis.

Is there competition for getting interviews with certain executives and thought leaders?

It’s competitive. It’s war. Liz Claman and I have not been on speaking terms for 5 years. Once, Andrew Ross Sorkin threw a double espresso at me. And Gillian Tett just flat out ignores me. I jest. But in truth, we all work with grace. We all value the guests. I try to bring a better conversation.

What’s the key to getting these people to open up and talk about real issues?

This is critical. The guest has to know going in to the interview that it will be an informed smart conversation. There has to be a certain ‘velocity’ or the guests shut down.

What do you expect will be some of the key themes people will be talking about this year?

Oil; deflation; migrants and refugees; oil; China; Brexit; Peyton Manning; more oil.

How many different bow ties are you taking?

Seven. Four Hermes and three Charvet, so Madame Lagarde will speak to me.