Timings losses on big stories trigger complaints, cause concern at Reuters

Recent complaints from two global banking clients “went to the top of the editorial food chain”, one staffer said.

The subject of the complaints was a timings loss of several minutes on a major market-moving foreign exchange story - traditionally an area of Reuters expertise and dominance.

Switzerland's central bank, the Swiss National Bank, shocked markets on 15 January when it removed its currency cap of 1.20 francs per euro.

“That, on top of other losses on what used to be core financial/treasury news, including an apparent lag on a recent Chinese policy move a couple of months back, deepened concerns in some quarters about the impact of tight staffing and shifting coverage priorities,” another staffer said.

Top editors blamed the losses on what another informant described as a breakdown in discipline and procedure. Others said it was a result of a deeper structural failure of strategy and priorities.

Editorial managers in the United States have blamed structural deficiencies for losses to rivals in breaking spot news. A new spot news desk is being created in Washington, which already has a breaking news team, to address a concern that the bureau too often lags the competition.

Editors said the timings losses in Asia and Europe indicated the problem was not solely an American one. ■