Conflict of interest?

Am I missing something in the “Thomson Reuters named one of world's most ethical companies” story? 

It is blatantly obvious that they cannot be referring to management’s treatment of top journalists and editors. Surely not, given the record of editor-in-chief Stephen Adler, managing editor Paul Ingrassia, and their neophyte Crony-gate fellow travellers in sending long-running thoroughbred journalists of sterling talent such as Jim Vicini and Glenn Somerville to the knackers yard, not to mention the most recent departure of the highly regarded Pascal Fletcher. And that’s also not to mention all those PIPs, and other managerial sleights of hand against long-standing staff.

But doesn’t the last sentence give the appearance of a conflict of interest on the part of the worthy Ethisphere Institute’s award to Reuters? It reads: “The list was announced in conjunction with the institute’s seventh annual global ethics summit in New York this week. It is co-hosted by the Institute and Thomson Reuters.”

Is it ethically proper that a company which is before the Institute for such recognition and the Institute itself should be co-hosting an event? ■