The boss had warned: " I don't want the journalists I pay to write negative articles about me. I don't want them to be independent. The warning, issued over a year ago, had the merit of being clear. But, in December 2019, Michael Bloomberg, who in the meantime had run for the Democratic nomination for the US presidential election, wanted to clarify his thinking. The founder and owner of Bloomberg LP, which owns the eponymous news agency, among other things, ruled on CBS News that " receiving wages entailed restrictions and responsibilities ".
"Restrictive and responsible" instructions were therefore provided to the agency’s 2,700 journalists, whose new recruits inevitably receive a copy of the boss’s autobiography, Bloomberg by Bloomberg (Global Village edition, 2000). In a memorandum, Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait told them that the agency would not produce any " background investigation "On candidate Bloomberg or one of his Democratic rivals. A red line which, for the time being, does not apply to the Republican opponent, Donald Trump, presidential office requires.
“There is no point in pretending that covering this campaign will be easy. John Micklethwait, editor of Bloomberg News
" There is no point in pretending that covering this campaign will be easy Recognized the editor. " We will describe the political proposals of the candidates and their consequences. We will publish polls, we will follow their campaigns, including that of Mike, like when he was mayor of New York (2002-2013). Back then, reporters were asked to never be the source of troublesome articles on Bloomberg LP. They were just allowed to take up the information published by their colleagues. Also forbidden to discuss the wealth or the private life of their boss, the current ninth richest man in the world with a fortune estimated at more than 64 billion dollars, according to the magazine Forbes. A shame for a press agency specializing in financial information.
Learned contortions and touching justifications
Today, these recommendations, which are particularly frustrating for political journalists, lead the agency to serious contortions and the reporters to touching justifications. The news site publishes an impressive and regularly updated list of articles that have appeared on all of the Democratic candidates, including Mr. Bloomberg. Where we learn that 9% of articles published on the presidential campaign concern the boss. Most of them set out in the most neutral way, which is Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign lines, or recall the magnitude of the exorbitant amounts he spends on his campaign. In an unprecedented way, the billionaire self-finances his campaign and has already spent almost $ 500 million taken from his personal money to pay for his political ads.
