The global managing editor of Reuters has made an enormous gaffe by describing the information group's output as "perceived as having terrible quality problems" in an e-mail distributed throughout the group, according to London newspaper The Independent.
David Schlesinger said: "Our news is perceived as not having enough insight; our data is perceived as having terrible quality problems."
The e-mail was intended for a few senior executives. But a technical error resulted in its appearance on the group's intranet, where it could be read by Reuters' 16 000 employees.
Within minutes it was replaced by a message from Schlesinger saying the e-mail was to stimulate discussion in the management team.
Ironically, the comments received a great deal of support within Reuters. "A lot of what he is saying is true," a senior editor said. "However, how it was expressed shows that the problems we have in our writing go right to the top."