Thomson/Reuters won't roll over Bloomberg

Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman writes Monday that the combined operations of Thomson Corp. and Reuters Group Plc will still have a difficult time defeating rival Bloomberg LP.

Friedman wrote, “What separates Bloomberg from most media organizations is the ferocious competitive spirit of most of its employees, and that’s not only because the company often hands out generous bonuses. Once I witnessed how one reporter refused to leave his post, even though his wife was going into labor.

“While it’s a matter of debate, to begin with, whether a Canadian company (Thomson) and a British one (Reuters) can work well together, I am wondering more about whether they can forge a competitive zeal to rival Bloomberg.

“If it turns out that they can’t, this threat will be regarded as insubstantial, like the many other ‘Bloomberg killers’ that have come along in the past 15 years.

“Mike Bloomberg’s genius was creating a can-do culture. It’s all about achieving high productivity — that’s all. Winning awards is nice, and Bloomberg investigative reporters David Evans and Michael Smith have garnered their share of professional prizes in the past year or so.”

Read more here. And disclosure: Friedman worked at Bloomberg for six years, and I worked there for two years.