Reuters Appoints First Female Editor-in-Chief in Its 170-Year History

▲Alessandro Galloni (right), newly appointed editor-in-chief of Reuters News Agency [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Reuters has appointed its first female editor-in-chief in its 170-year history.

According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 12th (local time), Alessandro Galloni (47) is set to lead the editorial department following Steven J. Adler, who will step down this month.

Galloni, originally from Italy, has worked at Reuters since 2015. Prior to Reuters, he was with the American daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). He is known to have mainly worked in the industrial and political departments.

In a statement, Galloni said, "For 170 years, Reuters has established an independent and reliable global standard," adding, "I am honored to lead a world-class newsroom filled with talented, dedicated, and inspiring journalists."

Galloni is known to have told colleagues that one of the key responsibilities of the editor-in-chief is maintaining a good relationship with the global financial information company Refinitiv.

Refinitiv was created when the financial and risk management division of Thomson Reuters, Reuters' parent company, became independent. Previously part of Thomson Reuters, Refinitiv was Reuters' largest client last year, accounting for half of its $628 million (approximately 706.9 billion KRW) in revenue.

Refinitiv was acquired by the London Stock Exchange Group in August 2019, at which time Reuters agreed to receive at least $336 million (approximately 378 billion KRW) annually in exchange for providing news to Refinitiv.

Former WSJ publisher Gordon Crovitz said, "Reuters is in a unique position to aggressively produce news through its contract with Refinitiv," adding, "Considering its scale and brand, I believe there are still many low-hanging fruits for Reuters."

However, there are concerns that Reuters could become a burden to its parent company Thomson Reuters. Earlier, Thomson Reuters' Chief Financial Officer (CFO) projected that while major divisions would grow by 6-7% in 2023, the news division's growth rate would reduce overall growth by 1-2%.

Meanwhile, under the leadership of former editor-in-chief Adler, Reuters swept seven Pulitzer Prizes, including the Breaking News Photography award. Currently, Reuters has grown into the world's largest news organization with over 2,500 journalists in more than 200 countries.