Campaign coverage restrictions end at Bloomberg News
NEW YORK (AP) — It's back to normal for political reporters at Bloomberg News now that company founder Mike Bloomberg has dropped out of the presidential race.
John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief at Bloomberg News, disclosed that in a memo to his staff on Wednesday. He said the company would follow the same rules for coverage of President Donald Trump and the remaining Democrats who are challenging him.
When Bloomberg announced his candidacy in November, the news service that he founded said its reporters would be allowed to cover his campaign but not do investigative stories. The same rules were applied to other Democratic candidates but not to Trump, since he is the current office-holder.
The Republican president immediately reacted by not allowing Bloomberg reporters to be credentialed to cover Trump's campaign rallies.
Mike Bloomberg ended his campaign and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday after a poor showing in the 14 states that held Super Tuesday primaries the day before.
Bloomberg's 2020 campaign coverage will include reporting on Mike Bloomberg's contributions to other Democrats and political causes when it is relevant, Micklethwait wrote.
“I would like to pay tribute to everybody who has covered the campaigns, and the independent way that we have reported the race,” Micklethwait wrote to his staff. “As I pointed out back on November 24th, we found ourselves in an unprecedented situation. No other newsroom of our size has had to deal with anything similar."
Despite the restrictions, he said Bloomberg journalists have written around 1,100 articles on the whole campaign, he said. That doesn't include broadcast interviews or articles from other news organizations that Bloomberg has made available to its customers, he said.
