Reuters' strategic direction unchanged - editor-in-chief

At a “town hall” meeting with editorial staff Adler rebuffed questions about Candappa, who left the company last month without notice and without explanation.

One journalist who took part in Wednesday’s meeting said a few people tried to ask about Candappa, who was Americas editor, but Adler said he was not answering questions about his departure.

Asked what happens next, Adler stressed that there was no change in the strategic direction of the editorial mission, the journalist said. The mission of telling great stories had not changed.

Adler said he was posting the job of regional editor.

Candappa’s temporary replacement is Washington bureau chief Kevin Krolicki, who moved swiftly to New York to take over day-to-day direction of the Americas news file. He continues to oversee the Washington bureau, itself a demanding assignment in an election year, and will be commuting between Washington and New York.

Krolicki, in a staff note earlier this week, said he wanted “to thank everyone for keeping our focus where it should be over the past week - telling important stories in the most compelling way from the snap to the special report.

“That’s why we’re all here. It’s what motivates all of us. It’s also what our customers demand. Nothing about that happy dynamic has changed.

“Even so, I understand that many of you have questions about how we will manage editorial in the Americas over the coming weeks under these interim arrangements.

“The short answer is that we are going to be collaborative - and, on occasion, more creative - as we push to deliver on everything we have promised for 2016. That includes the ambitious agenda we have started to map out to cover the year’s biggest stories and special projects. It includes a commitment to make multimedia central in our news coverage, from planning through production and packaging to delivery. And it includes the work we have begun under Project Connect to turn your suggestions into immediate improvements in the way we operate.”

Krolicki said all of that work had to continue and needed to succeed.

He summarised a series of measures “intended to sustain momentum” during the interim period that includes a temporary shuffling of roles for senior editors in the Americas and Asia and reinforcement of the Washington bureau. ■