Blogger leaves Reuters 'to do exciting things on the Internet'

The New York Times said he gave the news in an e-mail to colleagues. Reached by phone, Salmon declined to release details of his new job, it said.

Salmon, 42, began his career with the first wave of web journalists, in 1999, and joined Reuters in 2009 from Condé Nast’s short-lived financial publication Portfolio, according to a biography he posted on his Reuters blog when he joined.

The Times said he was seen as a key player in Reuters’ strategy, known as Reuters Next, to build a consumer-directed news operation to go with its news wires and financial terminals. “That plan was scuttled last year after the company’s chief executive [Andrew Rashbass] said it had missed deadlines and exceeded budgets."

The move prompted several executives to leave, including Jim Roberts, then executive editor of Reuters Digital. ■