Editorial upheaval sees the exit of another senior editor

Dayan Candappa, Asia editorial chief, in an announcement on Monday gave no reason for Rhoads’ departure but said he would announce his plans for life after Reuters soon and would remain with the company until 31 August, “working closely with me to ensure the transition in our China team is a lot smoother than the one going on in the Communist Party”.

Rhoads joined Reuters in 1996 as an editor in Hong Kong after working on newspapers in the United States and teaching English in China. After covering China he served for three years as a managing editor, first in the Americas from 2008 to 2010 and then in Asia, before returning to a reporting role.

He is one of several senior Reuters journalists who established their careers with the agency long before the 2008 takeover by Thomson and who are leaving in a far-reaching house-cleaning by its new US-based editorial management. They include Rhoads’ predecessor as managing editor in Asia, Adrian Dickson, and Mark Thompson, managing editor, Europe, Middle East and Africa. ■