• by Ray Schultz , July 4, 2022

Media veteran Paul Bascobert has been named president of Reuters News by Thomson Reuters Corp., effective Sept. 19. 

Bascober succeeds Michael Friedenberg, who left Reuters last December. Reuters finance chief Matthew Keen is serving as interim president pending Bascobert’s arrival. 

Previously, Bascobert was the CEO of Blue Ocean Acquisition Corp., and has also served as CEO of Gannett Co. Inc., and in senior titles at Dow Jones and Bloomberg. He will remain on the Blue Ocean board. 

Bascobert also worked at the XO Group, a resource for wedding and family planners, and is co-founder of Vertex, a healthcare strategy and analytics firm that merged with Braun Technology Group. 

“Paul combines a strong understanding of financial markets with belief in independent journalism and extensive experience as an operating executive, adviser and entrepreneur with an impressive track record of transformation and growth in media and SaaS (software as a service) businesses,” noted Thomson Reuters CEO Steve Hasker, to whom Bascobert will report, in a message to employees.

One task confronting Bascobert is resolution of a dispute with former Thompson Reuters sister company Refinitiv over a plan to launch a paywall for Reuters.com., Reuters reports. 

That plan was put on hold in May 2021 due to a dispute over whether the paywall would conflict with Refinitive’s content deal with Reuters, which runs until 2048. The sites are now in negotiations. 

Alessandra Galloni, appointed by Friedenberg as the first woman editor in chief of Reuters News, remains in charge of editorial, reporting to Bascobert.