TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE
Matt Winkler, the editor in chief at Bloomberg News for the last two decades, is taking a step back from the day-to-day news operations at the company, according to a video announcement to the staff on Tuesday.
Bloomberg spokeswoman Judith Czelusniak, in an e-mail, said, “There was an executive editors’ meeting yesterday, and Matt did a video for news staff based on it. He’s following up on some new workflow procedures that he said he’d be implementing in the news department back in July…when the Company did its reorganization. No new hires or promotions, but more global coverage hubs and more responsibility for exec editors. Some editors being moved around the globe.”
A survey showed 60 percent or more of Bloomberg readers don’t think of it as the first, final and future word. The executive editors met Monday and decided to take Bloomberg to a “greater level,” said Winkler. “It’s the “end of the beginning of Bloomberg News.”
“If we are going to get to the next level, for the sake of everyone, I can’t continue in the same role,” Winkler added on the video conference, according to a Bloomberg reporter. “As the senior managers assume more responsibility, I will spend more time with the reporters and editors I rarely see, on strategic planning in the bureaus, on recruitment, and on determining the most important business and economic and political issues worth reporting. The changes will enable me to spend more time with all of you and with the customers to make sure we achieve our ambition. This is a seminal moment for all of us.”
The reaction to the announcement has been mixed. One reporter in New York said, “There’s been a lot of debate about it among reporters. Generally being interpreted as an attempt to lower Matt’s profile, but fairly unclear.”
Winkler has run Bloomberg News operations since its formation, being hired away from The Wall Street Journal by company founder Mike Bloomberg to start the news service. (Winkler wrote Bloomberg’s bio in 1997.) The bow-tie wearing Winkler is known for its exacting standards and for his temper toward journalists who don’t adhere to them.
Winkler, who has a history degree from Kenyon College, is just 53, so it’s not like he’s being put out to retirement by the company.
Morgan Meaker, a senior writer for Wired covering Europe, is leaving the publication after three…
Nick Dunn, who is currently head of CNBC Events as senior vice president and managing…
Wall Street Journal editor in chief Emma Tucker sent out the following on Friday: Dear…
New York Times metro editor Nestor Ramos sent out the following on Friday: We are delighted to…
Rahat Kapur of Campaign looks at the evolution The Wall Street Journal. Kapur writes, "The transformation…
This position will be Hybrid in the office/market 3 days per week, and those days…
View Comments
Winkler giving up day-to-day control???? C'MON. That'd be like Angelina Jolie giving up being hot. Or Harvey Weinstein/Brenda Batten/Kirstie Allie giving up a free donut.
Wont ever happen. EVER.
If Matt Winkler's comments are accurately reported, he should be commended. Often the boss who completes the huge job of starting and building an innovative growth business isn't the right leader for a complex organization facing new challenges. That can cause costly, divisive power struggles. Instead, Winkler's reported comments clear the way for B-News's new leaders to use what was built on his watch - a deep talent pool, powerful worldwide networks, high standards - to make Bloomberg the leading independent global news organization it ought to be. That'd be great news for our industry. -- Joe DiStefano, Philadelphia Inquirer, a onetime reporter on Bloomberg's New York Finance Team.
Hey Heywood: That's just a seriously cruel cheap shot you took there at a respected colleague -- from the comfort of your anonymity. I hope you no longer work for us, and if you do, come see me and I'll teach you, emphatically, how Brenda Batten has probably forgotten more about news writing than you could hope to learn. Dick.
"Winkler to step outside his neon yellow cube and allow journalists to write conjunctions, feature stories"
Why no mention of Norm Pearlstine? Wasn't he brought in -- above, or at least parallel to, Winkler -- to shake things up?
Make no mistake: Winkler has had his wings clipped. Decade-old rules that he had insisted on -- including a ban on the word "but" in copy -- have been eased. That is HUGE. Reporters and editors have complained for years about Winkler's rigid style dictates, and he had always brushed them off. And The Bloomberg Way, formerly seen as a bible, is now just a "guide." The only way Winker would relent and accept lesser management duties is with orders from the top. His mistake -- and Bloomberg News's boon -- was hiring the likes of Al Hunt, Rich Jaroslovsky and Laurie Hays, all Wall Street Journal luminaries. They were nominally taken on as aides to Winkler, to carry out his vision. But with the addition of stars like Amanda Bennett from the Philly Inquirer, things have reached a tipping point. Imagine: if you had Gens. MacArthur, Pershing and Eisenhower on duty, would you asking them to take orders from a colonel? Winkler never progressed beyond reporter at the Wall Street Journal when he was tapped by Mike Bloomberg two decades ago; new hire Norm Pearlstine on the other hand has served as top editor at Time and WSJ. Even non-editorial types like Bloomberg LP CEO Peter Grauer could see the command structure was upside-down. While the company insists that Winkler is still in charge, I suspect Pearlstine has been given the reins and his leadership will emerge in coming months; his title is "chief content officer," a job that didn't exist till his arrival earlier this year. He and Winkler report to the same person, so are at least equals. Amid job-cutting at newspapers, Winkler scooped up falling stars with both hands and gave them high-paying positions. Bloomberg News will be better for it, especially with Winkler's influence diminished. For the reporters and editors, it's a new day.