Jonathan Lynn hopes 'that special Reuters culture' survives change

Jonathan Lynn (photo), ended a 32-year career as a Reuters correspondent on Tuesday with a nostalgic look back on “an incredibly collegial atmosphere, where we all work together on the same stories, with courtesy, respect and good humour” and a wish for “that special Reuters culture” to survive far-reaching changes in the organisation.

Lynn, 56, was until March Geneva bureau chief and world trade correspondent. Previous posts included Scandinavian bureau chief, chief economic correspondent in Moscow, and senior Asian editor in Singapore.

In a message headed “Goodbye and good luck” to colleagues around the world, he said it had been a fantastic time. “On my first posting in Vienna, covering Eastern Europe during the Cold War, I couldn’t believe that they were actually paying me to do this, and most of the time since then it’s been like that. It’s not just the front-row seat at history in the making (though rather obscure bits of financial history at times) which is what makes us all do this. Even more, it’s the great colleagues and wonderful range of people that you can only find in a place like Reuters,” he said.

“What makes Reuters special, amid all the fighting to be first and get the scoops, is an incredibly collegial atmosphere, where we all work together on the same stories, with courtesy, respect and good humour. I hope that with the many far-reaching changes we are undergoing now, that special Reuters culture will not be lost. Something else that makes us special as a world news agency, although you’d think it’s obvious, is the way we send people around the world to get a broader perspective that can inform their reporting at home and in other places. I’ve been fortunate to spend most of my career abroad, but in recent years it seems we’ve lost sight of the wood for the trees, and have cut back on the opportunities for decently paid foreign assignments for our correspondents: the very foundation of future news agency talent and experience. As well as depriving us of the future experienced correspondents we need, this flies in the face of the diversity policies that we claim to espouse. I hope the new management will be able to do something about that.”

Lynn said he was leaving a little earlier than he expected, “but 32 years plus isn’t bad”. ■