Daniel Kraut, an insurance and top news team editor at Bloomberg News, died Friday at the age of 55 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
An obituary states, “He joined Bloomberg in New York early in 2007 as an editor and was assigned to the insurance team, based partly on his coverage of staged accidents back in Passaic. That knowledge proved to be of little relevance in his new position, given that the capital markets audience was increasingly fixated on reckless mortgage-based wagers in the industry, led by AIG. Here’s what did translate from his prior roles: a strong work ethic, an insatiable curiosity, the discipline to read long documents and a focus on preparation and team building. Whatever the subject matter, Kraut was guided by a pair of principles. One is that while any editor can make a story better, the true professional makes sure that his colleagues get better. Second is that the reporters who beat the competition are the ones who have the best calendars and the superior Rolodexes, meaning that any ‘down’ time should be spent planning ahead or building relationships with sources. He was later named insurance team leader.
“Kraut also gained responsibilities helping the larger finance group with stories of banks in crisis. This is partly because he was among the early arrivals, thanks to his participation in car pools with other Manhattan-bound commuters who woke before sunrise to beat the bridge traffic. Over the years, the car pool partners came and went, but there was always a driver looking for someone reliable to help qualify for the multi-passenger discount on the bridge toll.
“In his final journalism role, on the Top Desk, he arrived before 6 AM and was the first editor in New York to take the handoff from Europe to set up the front page on the Bloomberg terminal for the US audience.”
Read more here.
