Cultural shift away from investigations at Bloomberg?

Damaris Colhoun writes for Columbia Journalism Review that reporters and editors inside Bloomberg are worried about a cultural shift away from aggressive and investigative reporting.

Colhoun writes, “The strongest evidence that a philosophical shift is underway surfaces in three internal memos that were given to CJR. Written by Micklethwait, who sends staff memos every week, the first two formulate a plan to be better at breaking news, and go on to identify the type of coverage that he wants to back away from. To numerous employees CJR interviewed, they read as a coded rebuttal to time-intensive enterprise reporting, and raise a red-flag about the new regime’s commitment to the work they most prized.

“‘Sometimes success causes problems…,’ Micklethwait wrote on May 5. ‘Over the next few weeks, we will look at some of the ways we can fight back—by introducing a fast commentary team, by setting up editing hubs, to help dominate the biggest breaking news, by pushing our journalists away from long-term (and sometimes self-indulgent) pieces that few people read, even on weekends.’

“In the second memo, dated June 2, Micklethwait issues a warning: ‘We have to be cautious about acquiring a reputation for ‘gotcha journalism,’’ he writes. He then appears to chastise two reporters for their lack of corporate respect in dealing with a PR person and a company that declined to comment on the record. ‘There was nothing technically inaccurate about either of the stories, but I am not proud of the reporting in either case and it is hard to believe that either of those companies will be bringing us scoops soon.’

“To some in the newsroom, this was another slap. The idea that reporters should kowtow to PR reps — or be waiting around for ‘companies to bring them scoops’ — was especially troubling. Not only does breaking news require hard-nosed reporting, it also raises the value of the terminals, some employees past and present said.”

Read more here.