Sorkin, Economist editor Beddoes back out of Saudi conference

Andrew Ross Sorkin

New York Times business columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and The Economist editor in chief Zanny Minton Beddoes will no longer participate in a Saudi Arabia investment conference after the disappearance of a Washington Post journalist, reports Imani Moise and Saeed Azhar of Reuters.

Moise and Azhar report, “Economist Editor-In-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes will not participate in the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, spokeswoman Lauren Hackett said in an email.

“Andrew Ross Sorkin, a CNBC anchor and New York Times business journalist, tweeted that he was also not attending the conference, saying he was ‘terribly distressed by the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and reports of his murder.’

“The New York Times Co has also decided to pull out of the event as a media sponsor, spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said. The Financial Times said in a statement that it was reviewing its involvement as a media partner.”

Read more here. Bloomberg is still scheduled to appear, according to the story.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.