Reuters trustees say sale won't hurt journalism

Eric Pfanner of the New York Times writes Wednesday that the Reuters trustees believe that the sale of the company to Thomson Corp. won’t hurt its journalistic values.

Pfanner wrote, “At a news conference in London, where Reuters is based, executives of both companies promised to protect their journalism, which is a small part of the business of both companies but a big part of the public profile, at least at Reuters.

“Thomas H. Glocer, the Reuters chief executive, who would have the same role in the combined company, said Reuters would continue to cover general news, not just the business news for which customers were more willing to pay.

“‘Covering the war in Iraq is so central to what oil traders need to know, what the markets need to know,’ he said. ‘I can’t imagine a general news story that doesn’t have relevance to the markets.’

“But a number of unions at Reuters raised concerns in a letter on Monday to the Reuters trustees.”

Read more here.