Covering Bloomberg for Bloomberg

Ashley Parker of the New York Times writes Wednesday about Henry Goldman, the Bloomberg News reporter who covers New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who happens to be the majority owner of Bloomberg.

Parker writes, “While much of Mr. Goldman’s work is praised by his colleagues, Bloomberg News’ coverage of the mayor has come in for some criticism. Last month, an article in Editor & Publisher magazine criticized the New York news media for the way it covered Mr. Bloomberg’s handling of the December blizzard that left the city paralyzed. Bloomberg News, the article reported, ‘totally ignored the intense debate over the mayor’s whereabouts as 20 inches of snow closed in on New York.’

“‘The news service,” said the article, written by Allan Wolper, ‘behaved as if City Hall had sent over a city editor to make sure the majority owner of its company wouldn’t get into trouble during any of his snow days.’

“Mr. Goldman, 61, has covered some of the central controversies of the mayor’s tenure: his successful push to win an extension of term limits, and his unsuccessful appointment of Cathleen P. Black as schools chancellor. But Mr. Goldman’s coverage of Mr. Bloomberg is generally in connection with news events, rather than investigatory work.

“Mr. Goldman’s portfolio includes topics other than the mayor. Bloomberg News describes him as a state and local municipal finance reporter, and says that differentiates him from other reporters based at City Hall. Mr. Goldman declined to be interviewed for this article, but in 2002, he told American Journalism Review, ‘It’s a difficult assignment.'”

Read more here.