Bloomberg News on Sunday outlined several editorial changes it will make as it adjusts to its owner, Michael Bloomberg, running for President.
The former New York Mayor confirmed earlier on Sunday he is joining the crowded field of Democrats seeking to challenge President Donald Trump for the presidency in the election next year.
"There is no point in trying to claim that covering this presidential campaign will be easy," said John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, in a staff email quoted by AFP. He cited the company's policy of not writing about itself or direct competitors.
Micklethwait outlined a few editorial changes the agency will make but stressed they would make campaign coverage decisions on a case-by-base basis, rather than following an "exhaustive rulebook."
"The place where Mike has had the most contact with Editorial is Bloomberg Opinion: our editorials have reflected his views," Micklethwait wrote, noting that the company will end its policy of unsigned editorials.
They will also suspend the editorial Board, in part because several Board members will take leaves of absence to join Bloomberg's campaign.
Micklethwait said he intends for the company to cover the campaign's news "in much the same way as we have done before," with the exception that articles will explicitly state that Bloomberg News' owner is a candidate.
In the email, Micklethwait added that they will not investigate Bloomberg's family or foundations - the same would go for his Democratic rivals - but would publish or summarize investigative pieces on all Democratic candidates.
Bloomberg, 77, previously announced in March that he would not run for president in 2020, due to what he cited as the “difficulty of winning the Democratic nomination in such a crowded field.”
Earlier this month, however, he filed for the 2020 Democratic primary in Alabama, before filing paperwork for a primary run.
Polls taken before Bloomberg’s entry into the race show him in seventh place, trailing the top three polling candidates – Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren – by double digits, with just 2.3% support among Democratic primary voters, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls.