Good enough for St Peter: 'I was a Reuters journalist'

Another senior journalist is leaving Reuters mid-way through her career. Claudia Parsons, pictured, a top news editor for the last two years, ends her time with the agency on Friday.

“Claudia has been a fine reporter and editor here for 16 years, working in Spain, Italy, Turkey, the Gulf and Iraq as well as on the World Desk in London and in the New York general news team,” Martin Howell, top news editor and deputy editor, Americas, told editorial colleagues.

He said she would be leaving Reuters in New York at the end of this week “so that she can spend time writing the great American - or perhaps it will be Scottish - novel”. 

Creative writing is certainly in the cards.

“When I first set foot in a Reuters office as an intern in Rome in 1994, I was lucky enough to work for one of the all-time great bureau chiefs, Paul Holmes,” Parsons told The Baron. “He was the first of many people who taught me, inspired me, befriended me, made me laugh and made me better at what I do. They are too many to mention by name, but they know who they are and I will always be grateful.

“I was a graduate trainee in London in 1997, where one of my mentors summed up the essence of Reuters like this: When you get to the Pearly Gates and St Peter asks what you did with your life, it should be enough to say ‘I was a Reuters journalist.’

“I was posted to Madrid, Milan and Ankara before returning to the World Desk in London, and from there I got a prime job covering arts and entertainment in New York. Somewhere along the way I found myself on aircraft carriers in the Gulf, in Baghdad with some of the bravest reporters in the business, and camping with Marines in an Afghan desert. More recently, I helped launch enterprise journalism at Reuters, and ended my Reuters days editing top news in the Americas.

“Now it’s time for a change - I’ll be taking a few months to try creative writing and will be looking for a job in the spring, hoping to focus more on arts, culture and features.”

Two weeks ago, Catherine Bremer, chief correspondent in Paris, left after 17 years with Reuters.

PHOTO: Claudia Parsons conducts an interview in the emergency room at the Baghdad US military hospital in 2006 (Thaier al Sudani). ■