Bloomberg chairman Peter T. Grauer said in a Thursday speech that Bloomberg must think about the publication of articles based on the context of its business operation and that the publishing of articles critical of China must be reconsidered.
The New York Times reports:
Acknowledging the vast size of the Chinese economy, the world’s second-biggest after that of the United States, Mr. Grauer, said, "We have to be there."
"We have about 50 journalists in the market, primarily writing stories about the local business and economic environment," Mr. Grauer said in response to questions after a speech at the Asia Society. "You’re all aware that every once in a while we wander a little bit away from that and write stories that we probably may have kind of rethought — should have rethought."
Bloomberg, the financial data and news company, relies on sales of its terminals, which are ubiquitous on bankers’ desks around the world, for about 82 percent of its $8.5 billion in revenue. But sales of those terminals in China declined after the company published an article in June 2012 on the family wealth of Xi Jinping, at that time the incoming Communist Party chief. After its publication, officials ordered state enterprises not to subscribe to the service. Mr. Grauer did not specifically mention the article about Mr. Xi or any other articles.
Mr. Grauer’s comments on Bloomberg’s journalistic priorities in China reflect what some Bloomberg employees say is a re-emphasis on financial news, and skepticism from the business side about whether investigative journalism is worth the potential problems it could create for terminal sales.