As it attempts to rebuke claims that it spiked a story critical of China's government as part of an appeasement strategy, Bloomberg News has reportly suspended star reporter and whistleblower Mike Forsythe.
According to the NY Post, Forsythe was escorted from Bloomberg's Hong Kong offices on November 14, "after he was fingered as the person who leaked embarrassing claims about how the news and data giant spiked a story that could have angered leaders in China."
The Financial Times spoke to an anonymous Bloomberg staffer who said that when trying to access Forsythe on the company's internal system, a message pops up to say he is on "HR leave".
One person familiar with the suspension of Mr Forsythe said at least three of the four journalists in Hong Kong who worked on the story were called for individual meetings with management on Tuesday. They participated in conference calls with Bloomberg’s external lawyer in New York.
After his meeting, Mr Forsythe did not return to his desk, and no longer has access to Bloomberg’s internal system.
Forsythe and his team were reportedly working on a story tracing the financial connections between Wang Jianlin, China's richest man, and top-ranking government officials. The report was described in an internal email from Bloomberg managing editor Jonathan Kaufman as "terrific".
"I am in awe of the way you tracked down and deciphered the financial holdings and the players," Kaufman said in an email leaked to the FT. "It’s a real revelation. Looking forward to pushing it up the line."
When the story was pushed up the line however, it was allegedly spiked by top Bloomberg executives, including editor in chief Matthew Winkler. In a conference call, a senior editor told the Hong Kong team the story was being put on the "backburner".
Forsythe was the lead reporter on a 2012 investigation into the family wealth of Xi Jinping, which won numerous awards, but reportedly cost Bloomberg LP – parent company of Bloomberg News – revenue from its subscription-based financial information terminals as officials ordered state enterprises not to subscribe. The Bloomberg News website was also mostly blocked in mainland China.
In an op-ed in the Providence Journal, John MacArthur, publisher of Harper's Magazine, writes:
I don’t doubt is that [Michael] Bloomberg’s original financial-data business — the Bloomberg Terminal — places him in a serious, permanent conflict of interest with his news-gathering operations, which include television, radio and magazines.
Forsythe's dismissal comes as Bloomberg News is laying off staff from most of its desks, including the award-winning investigative unit.
Update 19:00 CST: Mike Forsythe posted the following on Twitter, his first public statement since his suspension:
Thanks everyone for the incredible outpouring of sympathy and support. It has really helped me and my family get through this.
— Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) November 18, 2013
[Image via Flickr]
0 User Comments