Change in news mission at Bloomberg LP

Interviews with current and former Bloomberg employees show that the business and news operations exist in uneasy tension, and occasionally collide, reports the New York Times in an article for Monday’s paper.

Amy Chozick, Nathaniel Popper, Edward Wong and David Carr write, “Against this backdrop, some top executives have begun to question the role of the company’s news operation. Executives on the business side insist that short bursts of market-moving news, not prize-winning investigative journalism, are what Bloomberg’s paying customers want. Editors are increasingly asked to send only brief, bullet-point news reports to terminals — easily digestible facts for traders and hedge fund managers.

“‘To the bankers that run the place, you have a redheaded stepchild that is a rounding error in the scheme of things that is managing to create a lot of trouble,’ one news employee said.

“This person, like the more than two dozen current and former business and news executives interviewed for this article, agreed to discuss the company’s operations but insisted on anonymity, citing strict nondisclosure agreements.

“In an interview last week, Mr. Doctoroff said the backlash this spring over reporters’ monitoring of clients ‘did prompt self-reflection,’ and one senior executive said the mayor’s return would be a ‘reset’ moment for the company.”

Read more here.