Winkler Stepping Back At Bloomberg?
We heard fourth-hand that Matthew Winkler, the bow-tied tyrant who leads Bloomberg News' editorial side, announced internally this morning that he is "stepping away from day-to-day management of the news operations." Another source said he's not stepping away—"it's more like he's spreading the wealth around a little bit." This would probably be a planned evolution of management rather than a result of the newswire's recent monumental fuckups, but employees would be happy for less of Winkler either way. Any Bloomberg people who can provide some info on this, please email us ASAP. UPDATE: Talking Biz News has the fuzzy, but possibly horrifying details of Winkler's move:
Bloomberg spokesman Judith Czelusniak, in an e-mail, said, "There was an executive editors' meeting yesterday, and Matt did a video for news staff based on it. He's following up on some new workflow procedures that he said he'd be implementing in the news department back in July…when the Company did its reorganization. No new hires or promotions, but more global coverage hubs and more responsibility for exec editors. Some editors being moved around the globe." The executive editors, including Amanda Bennett, Al Hunt and John McCorry, will now apparently decide daily coverage.
No more Winkler determining coverage? Sounds good, right? But:
"If we are going to get to the next level for the sake of everyone, I can't continue in the same role," Winkler said on the video conference, according to a Bloomberg reporter. "As the senior managers assume more responsibility, I will spend more time with the reporters and editors I rarely see, on strategic planning in the bureaus, on recruitment, and on determining the most important business and economic and political issues worth reporting."
Uh oh. One reporter sums up: "Fairly unclear." [Talking Biz News; more at Reuters Mediafile]