Big Bang

As I’ve been predicting for the past two years, the Thomson family has decided to eviscerate Reuters. The Baron’s superb scoop has all the details [The ‘Big Bang’ in Reuters’ future]. It’s ironic that they are calling it “the Big Bang” because this is the end of the world for Reuters as we know it.

Reuters certainly needs urgent reform but “the Big Bang” strategy is a bad cosmic joke. It shows that management remains utterly oblivious about how Reuters bureaux actually function and how journalists do their jobs. And the whole plan is based on the “sharper file” initiative first tried in Asia, which every journalist there knows doesn’t work.

The most striking thing about management’s vision for the future of Reuters is that they haven’t even figured out what kind of company Reuters is now, what it does and what its customers want. Without clarity on these issues, how can any intelligent strategic decisions be taken? ■