Ben Richardson speaks and wants Bloomberg to respond

Ben Richardson, the Bloomberg News editor who was involved in editing the spiked China stories, spoke with James Fallows of The Atlantic about how he decided to resign from the company and what happened.

Here is an excerpt:

James Fallows: Four months ago, during the Mike Forsythe episode, Bloomberg officials contended that his stories just “weren’t ready,” and that the accounts in the NYT and elsewhere were misleading or incomplete. What was your understanding of the episode and whether the company’s claims were correct?

Ben Richardson: I was one of the two editors on the story that was spiked last year, and one of three who helmed the 2012 stories on the hidden wealth of China’s Communist Party leaders, so I have a pretty intimate knowledge of what happened. Unfortunately, I am bound by a confidentiality agreement that prevents me from disclosing the details. That said, much has already become a matter of public knowledge.

I felt the NYT and FT articles were a fair account. As often happens in news coverage, the stories painted the picture in stark black and white when in reality it was more nuanced. However, the contention that the story “wasn’t ready” is risible: the only proof of readiness is publication. The real question is whether the story had any merit, and if it did, how could we get it to press?

That’s a simple question. So if Bloomberg felt the story had no merit, then why has the company not explained its reasons? Four seasoned, veteran journalists (with help from many others on the periphery) laboured for months on this story. Were we all wrong? All of us deficient in news judgment?

Read more here.