Mickelthwait bringing new editorial tone to Bloomberg

Roger Yu and Kim Hjelmgaard of USA Today write for Monday’s paper about incoming Bloomberg News editor in chief John Mickelthwait, the current editor of The Economist.

Yu and Hjelmgaard write, “Current and former colleagues repeatedly mentioned his ease of manner, and were unable to recall a time when he lost his temper or engaged in heated confrontations with subordinates. ‘Friendly,’ ‘affable,’ ‘self-deprecating’ and ‘gregarious’ were some of the adjectives that came up in interviews.

“Editorially, Micklethwait made several moves that underscore his priorities. He created a China section, and the economic powerhouse joined the U.K. and the U.S. as the only countries to have dedicated pages. He also created an international section, a part of the magazine for stories that don’t have a specific geographic anchor.

“It was a necessary acknowledgment of the irrevocable move toward a global economy, one befitting a book author who’s written repeatedly on the topic in recent years. In 2003, Micklethwait co-wrote a book with colleague Adrian Wooldridge on the changing global economy, A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Promise of Globalization.

“Staffers say the traditions of the 171-year old magazine are too firmly entrenched for one editor to move the editorial needle significantly. But Micklethwait has been somewhat flexible in acceding to the changing times. Bylines are a no-no at the magazine, but with blogs becoming a more prominent feature, he agreed to the compromise of running writers’ initials online.”

Read more here.