Reuters Names a New Editor in Chief

While owned by Thomson Reuters, Reuters is primarily funded by another company: the London Stock Exchange Group. Reuters receives at least $325 million a year for the next 28 years from the entity that operates the British exchange, and nearly 60 percent of the newsroom’s costs were funded by the vendor agreement last year.

The unique arrangement came about as a result of a complex set of acquisitions. In October 2018, Thomson Reuters sold the majority of its data business, known by its brand name, Refinitiv, to the investment giant Blackstone Group in a $20 billion deal. Reuters is integrated into Refinitiv, a data product popular with Wall Street traders and business executives. It competes with Bloomberg L.P.

But longstanding bylaws that govern Reuters make a takeover of the newsroom nearly impossible. A so-called poison pill provision prevents any one entity from owning more than 15 percent of the news operation. Another provision gives the directors of the trust that governs Reuters the power to veto or endorse any takeover.

Partly because of that complication, Thomson Reuters brokered an arrangement in which Blackstone agreed to pay Reuters at least $325 million a year for 30 years, in effect giving the newsroom a nearly $10 billion endowment.

In January, Blackstone sold Refinitiv to the London Stock Exchange Group in an all-stock transaction.

Financial data has become much more important to stock exchanges and trading houses as computer-aided trading, or bot trades, have become more popular. Marketplaces like the London Stock Exchange are trying to offer more one-stop-shop solutions for clients with the addition of data and news.

The appointment of Ms. Galloni, who received the 2020 Lawrence Minard Editor Award from the Gerald Loeb Foundation, which honors business journalists, fills a top journalism job while other major newsrooms are searching for their next top editors. Norman Pearlstine retired from the top newsroom job at The Los Angeles Times in December, and Martin Baron, the executive editor of The Washington Post, called it a career in February. The two publications are expected to name their replacements soon.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/business/media/reuters-editor-Alessandra-Galloni.html