Bloomberg News Enforces Discipline Following Embargo Breach in Prisoner Swap Coverage

Bloomberg News Faces Internal Discipline Over Embargo Breach

On Monday, John Micklethwait, the editor in chief of Bloomberg News, announced that the publication had taken disciplinary action against several journalists who were involved in breaching an embargo related to a significant prisoner swap. This incident was described by Micklethwait as a “clear violation of our editorial standards.”

In an internal email addressed to staff members, Micklethwait explained that the organization’s standards editor conducted a thorough investigation into how the embargo—set by the Biden administration—was compromised. He emphasized that Bloomberg would be reviewing its processes to prevent similar failures in the future.

The specifics of the disciplinary actions taken against the journalists involved were not disclosed, nor were the names of those affected mentioned in the email.

Bloomberg published an article at 7:41 a.m. on Thursday that detailed the complexities surrounding the prisoner exchange, which led to the release of Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, along with several others.

According to two individuals familiar with the situation, Jennifer Jacobs, a senior White House reporter who was the first to byline the article, has since departed from the company. Additionally, an editor associated with the story faced demotion, as reported by two other sources.

In a statement shared on social media, Jacobs expressed her distress regarding the situation, stating, “The idea that I would jeopardize the safety of a fellow reporter is deeply upsetting on a level that’s difficult to describe.” She clarified that she had adhered to editorial guidelines while reporting on Gershkovich’s release and asserted, “At no time did I do anything that was knowingly inconsistent with the administration’s embargo or that would put anyone involved at risk.” Jacobs further noted that reporters do not have the ultimate authority over when an article is published or how it is headlined.

A spokesperson for Bloomberg News declined to provide additional comments on the matter.

It is worth noting that numerous U.S. news organizations, including The New York Times, had obtained details about the prisoner swap from government sources prior to its execution, under the stipulation that the information would remain confidential until the prisoners were securely in U.S. custody.

Initially, the Bloomberg article incorrectly stated that the Americans had already been released, but this was rectified about an hour later with an editor’s note correcting the misinformation.

In his email, Micklethwait indicated that the article had been “prematurely published” and expressed concern that it could have jeopardized the success of the swap. He remarked, “Even if our story mercifully ended up making no difference, it was a clear violation of the editorial standards, which have earned this newsroom its reputation for trustworthiness around the globe.”

Furthermore, Micklethwait shared that he had personally apologized to Emma Tucker, the editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, on Thursday and had also reached out to each of the prisoners to offer his apologies.

“We publish thousands of stories every day, many of which break news,” he wrote in his message to the staff. “We take accuracy very seriously. However, we also have a responsibility to do the right thing. In this instance, we failed.”