Bloomberg fires White House reporter for violating news embargo

Bloomberg News has fired senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs over the publication of an article which reported last week’s prisoner exchange in violation of a news embargo, according to reports.

The news agency faced criticism from government officials and journalists after an article was published which reported the prisoner exchange with Russia before it concluded, which some argued could have put the outcome at risk.

“Even if our story mercifully ended up making no difference, it was a clear violation of the editorial standards which have made this newsroom so trusted around the world,” Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait said on Monday.

“Following a full investigation over the past few days by our Standards editor, we have today taken disciplinary action against a number of those involved, and we will be reviewing our processes to ensure that failures like this don’t happen again,” Micklethwait said.

The editor said he had also written personal letters to each of the former prisoners, adding: “We take accuracy very seriously. But we also have a responsibility to do the right thing. In this case we didn’t.”

While Micklethwait provided no details about the disciplinary action, New York Magazine reporter Charlotte Klein said Jacobs had been fired by the news agency.

Jacobs later released a statement in which she defended her work, saying she had not taken any action which was knowingly inconsistent with the U.S. government’s news embargo.

“As a journalist, the idea that I would jeopardize the safety of a fellow reporter is deeply upsetting on a level that’s difficult to describe,” Jacobs said. “I am so happy Evan Gershkovich and the others are home.”

Jacobs added: “Reporters don’t have the final say over when a story is published or with what headline. The chain of events here could happen to any reporter tasked with reporting the news. This is why checks and balances exist within the editorial processes.”

Specific details about the circumstances of the article’s publication were not released.

Last week, a prisoner exchange with Russia and Belarus resulted in the release of 16 people, including 3 American citizens, 1 American green-card holder, 5 Germans and 7 Russian political prisoners. Some journalists were briefed in advance by the White House on the condition that nothing would be published until all prisoners were safely released.