In news shake-up, Thomson Reuters merges editorial and media

Chief executive James Smith announced “the next phase in our News strategy, one that encompasses the full suite of our news-related capabilities to deliver increased value to our customers” in a message to the group’s 60,000 staff on Wednesday.

It will take effect from 1 January under the direction of Stephen Adler as president and editor-in-chief. Adler joined Thomson Reuters in January 2010 as senior vice president and editorial director of the company’s professional division. He succeeded David Schlesinger as editor-in-chief in February 2011.

Smith said: “Steve’s experience working with each of our business units, as well as his background as former Editor-in-Chief of BusinessWeek and Investigative Editor for the Wall Street Journal, have prepared him well for this expanded role.”

Susan Taylor Martin, formerly Reuters’ global head of corporate strategy who was appointed president of media – news-related sales and marketing – in July 2011, “will be taking on a major new leadership position in our company – stay tuned for an announcement about this early in 2013,” Smith said.

He said the change “gives us an opportunity for much better operational and strategic alignment and a sharper commercial edge”.

The new organisation will focus clearly on common goals:

• “We are committed to providing outstanding service to our customers by producing world-class journalism targeted to their needs and fully compliant with the Trust Principles.
• “The primary role of News within Thomson Reuters is as a core capability, oriented toward supporting the growth and value creation of the company overall with Financial & Risk being the immediate priority.
• “We should also strengthen our consumer presence in news, with a clear focus on engaging the sophisticated news user in order to drive the core business.
• “We should continue to participate in the news agency marketplace by ensuring that our products further the mission of harnessing news to benefit the company as a whole, providing both indirect and direct benefit to our professional businesses.”

Smith said the integration of Thomson Reuters’ news capabilities “is an exciting step and one that I am sure will deliver extraordinary value to our customers and company. I also believe that this is the surest way to uphold the Trust Principle that ‘no effort shall be spared to expand, develop and adapt the news and other services and products of Thomson Reuters so as to maintain its leading position in the international news and information business’”. ■