Bloomberg News’s Dilemma: How to Cover a Boss Seeking the Presidency

He has not shied from reporting on negative developments. Last week, his byline appeared atop a 600-word article about an audio recording from 2015 of Mr. Bloomberg praising stop-and-frisk policing. On Sunday, Mr. Niquette co-authored a story on concerns about Mr. Bloomberg’s “comments about policing, women and race.”

Mr. Niquette, who travels to many of Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign events, has also published a critical look at Mr. Bloomberg’s economic, health care and infrastructure plans under the headline “Bloomberg Offers Few Details to Back Up Trillions in Spending.”

In Washington, at the December town hall, Mr. Micklethwait said he was accustomed to hearing complaints about conflicts of interest. He cited Wall Street executives displeased with Bloomberg News’s coverage of their companies — companies that spend significant sums for access to Bloomberg L.P.’s financial data.

As for the challenges of covering his boss, Mr. Micklethwait noted that Mr. Bloomberg’s political second act could last anywhere from a few months to nine years.

It was a point not lost on the reporters gathered before him. The prospect of Mr. Bloomberg in the White House has become another matter of significant concern among Bloomberg News journalists.

If Mr. Bloomberg, as he has mused in the past, were to sell his company if elected, some journalists there believe a new owner may not be willing to subsidize an expensive news-gathering operation that is ultimately tangential to the company’s core product, the financial data terminals that command princely subscription sums from the investing class.

And if a President Bloomberg held onto his media organization, how would Bloomberg News reporters cover Washington and a federal administration controlled by the man ultimately responsible for their paychecks?

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/business/media/bloomberg-news-conflict-of-interest.html?emc=rss&partner=rss