Bloomberg Hiring, Won't Disclose Diversity Figures

by Richard Prince,  Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

NEW YORK - The Bloomberg financial reporting operation will not disclose how diverse or not diverse its journalists are, a spokeswoman said, but it is hiring.

"While it is our policy not to disclose private information about employees or our workforce, Bloomberg LP is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and we have dedicated diversity efforts across the company," the spokeswoman said.

The question arose as Bloomberg News, part of a company created by Michael R. Bloomberg, now New York mayor, is "making an aggressive push into the Washington media terrain long dominated by trade publications and news outlets like Congressional Quarterly and National Journal, which charge high subscription fees to provide lobbyists and Capitol Hill insiders with information on the nuts-and-bolts of lawmaking and government regulation," as Jeremy W. Peters reported in October for the New York Times.

"The service, called Bloomberg Government, is based on the same guiding principle that spawned the original Bloomberg financial data machine: people need an aggregator and filter for information, and they will pay a lot of money for that convenience.

"Bloomberg Government is an information behemoth — a news aggregator, government contract database, Congressional staff directory and source for policy research and analysis all in one Web site.

"Unlike the Bloomberg financial information service, Bloomberg Government will not require separate hardware to operate. For $5,700 a year for each user (a discount will be available for government users), subscribers will be able to gain access to the system through their personal computers."

Michael Riley, managing editor of Bloomberg Government, said, "I can tell you that hiring for difference is vitally important to me, and it's something I've focused on in previous jobs with some success."

Job opportunities for Bloomberg Government are listed on this website.

The American Society of News Editors has urged that diversity numbers be shared since 1978, when its Minorities Committee recommended, "There should be at least an annual accounting by ASNE of minority employment, including not just total jobs but types of positions held" and set a goal of achieving parity with the general population by 2000. That was later amended to 2025 or sooner.