UPDATED: Bloomberg News has taken disciplinary action against employees responsible for violating an embargo on a complex prisoner swap scheme that led to the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and others.
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In a memo to staff, editor in chief John Micklethwait wrote that Bloomberg was “premature” in publishing the story about the planned release of Gershkovich and other detainees on Thursday. Micklethwait wrote that the story “could have jeopardized the negotiated exchange that freed them.”
“Even if our story ultimately made no difference, it was a clear violation of the editorial standards that have made this newsroom so trusted around the world,” he wrote. The New York Times was the first to publish Micklethwait’s note.
In addition to disciplinary action, Micklethwait said Bloomberg would “review our processes to ensure mistakes like this don’t happen again.” He also said he has written a letter of apology to the inmates, and he apologized to Wall Street Journal editor in chief Emma Tucker on Thursday.
