Thomson and Reuters - a damaging culture clash

The Armed Forces Covenant, signed in blatant disregard of the Trust Principles, has rightly caused a storm of protests. But it is only the most egregious recent example of how Reuters core values have been steadily undermined since the Thomson takeover in 2008.

As discussed in The Baron’s recent editorial, Thomson was far from an ideal choice. With admirable prescience in light of recent events, unions at the time wrote to the Trustees raising concerns over whether the agency would maintain its high standards of journalism, integrity, and independence after the merger.

They also noted that giving the Thomson family a majority interest contravened one of the Trust Principles.

Nevertheless, the deal went ahead and there has been a running culture clash since then between Reuters fundamental ethos and that of the Thomson organisation.

There are two possible explanations of how the extraordinary decision was made to sign the covenant. Both of them suggest that Editorial has been fatally weakened in the last decade.

Either the covenant was promoted without consulting Editorial, which would mark an unprecedented decline in its corporate importance and influence. Or senior editors knew and did nothing to stop it, which would be unconscionable.

Long before we reached this point Reuters had been steadily damaged by decisions taken since 2008, at least partly because the former Wall Street Journal editors brought in by Thomson chairman David Thomson seemed intent on moulding Reuters more in the image of their old employer than strengthening a famous world news agency.

Perhaps Thomson was the only suitor with enough cash to save Reuters after a huge flotation windfall in the 1980s was squandered. But the combination of cutting costs brutally - entirely predictable given the record of the Thomson organisation - and siphoning a large chunk of revenue off to long-form journalism aimed at winning Pulitzers, with no discernible significant revenue stream, was a deadly recipe for decline.

The only way to turn around Reuters before it is too late is to rebalance resources and point them at where they are needed - covering breaking news at speed for financial clients, and using substantial revenue currently siphoned off to Enterprise investigative and special reporting to hire more frontline correspondents instead of boosting a top-heavy executive team.

Perhaps this is the moment for the Trustees, who gave the Thomson takeover the nod despite its contravention of one of the Trust Principles, to finally get off their hands and take some meaningful action before it is too late. ■