Why the Reuters Breakingviews editor will be in Paris for 2019

Rob Cox, the global editor of Reuters Breakingviews, will run the operation from Paris, instead of New York, for the next year.

Cox writes, “There are other, more practical, reasons to choose Paris as a base. The time zone is suited to a global operation that stretches across Asia, Europe and the United States. From Paris, it’s possible to speak to colleagues in Singapore or Beijing without spoiling anyone’s dinner before tackling European business, and then pitching in on the New York day. The real challenge is knowing when to back away from the laptop.

“It’s also far easier to travel. London is effectively an extension of the Paris Metro – no harder to reach than New Haven is from Manhattan. High-speed trains link the French capital from Amsterdam to Zurich. Air France may have its fiscal woes, but its network is hard to beat. Getting to the Middle East is a cinch, and the jet lag from a trip to China is negligible compared with the 13-hour nightmare accompanying a New York-Shanghai jaunt.

“True, other European cities, like Frankfurt, Amsterdam or Brussels offer similar conveniences. And taxes in these countries are less liable to shift significantly when governments change. Yet none can match Paris as a cauldron where industry, finance, media, government and culture comingle. The ability to network across so many spheres makes Paris ideal.”

Read more here.