Bloomberg’s prez run hopelessly compromises his media company

In a modern spin on feudalism, the entire editorial board of Bloomberg News is taking a leave of absence … and joining the boss’ presidential campaign. But that only dodges the least of the ethical issues here.

Michael Bloomberg isn’t selling his company as he runs for president, just stepping away — while his handpicked managers will continue to run it. What happens if he actually wins the Democratic nomination? And what if he then beats President Trump next November?

Trump stepped aside from his own real-estate company after he rode down that escalator to launch his White House bid, and the Trump Organization has essentially suspended new business, especially overseas, while he’s in office. Yet his critics still make endless noises about the Emoluments Clause.

But Bloomberg’s conflicts of interest are huge even while it’s still just primary season.

As it is, Bloomberg News says it won’t do investigations of any Democratic candidates while its owner is competing against them — extending to his rivals the same policy it already has regarding him. Trump, however, remains fair game. Anyone suspect that news slamming the prez will be extra-richly rewarded?

This is a media company that pretends to be objective — yet it’s just announced an utterly partisan standard for its coverage: The Republican is fair game (at least!), while the Democrats are off the table. What’s the new slogan — “fair but unbalanced”? “Democracy thrives on bias”?

And what if the owner gets the nomination: Does the “no investigating his rivals” rule then extend to Trump? Will it have to spike exposés it didn’t publish in time?

Or does the entire multibillion-dollar company become one giant political contribution, protected from the usual campaign-finance laws by the First Amendment?

That barely begins to scratch the surface of the conflicts here. Endorsements are politically valuable — will politicians who promote Bloomy’s candidacy during the primaries also get the hands-off treatment? What about those who attack him?

Bloomberg’s campaign will surely focus on some core issues; how does his media firm handle those — with more blackouts of its coverage? Extensive disclaimers?

Indeed, the company’s executives will likely have to err on the side of caution — spiking stories, or squelching them before reporters even get started, for fear of infuriating the owner.

Already, beyond killing its unsigned editorials for the duration, the company’s opinion wing will stop running even signed commentary on the campaign. That muzzle will have to be pretty heavy, since views on just about any issue of national interest have political implications.

Then, too, Bloomberg News — and the company’s incredibly lucrative leasing of its trademark terminals and financial services — can be targeted. Does the candidate-owner dare say what he really thinks about, the Hong Kong protests?

Heck, Beijing at least as far back as 2013 intimidated Bloomberg News into killing stories that offended the Communist Party elite — a policy the big boss had to have at least signed off on. It’s easy to see that censorship growing still worse now.

When we urged Michael Bloomberg to enter the race so he can help drag the Democratic Party back to the center, we assumed he’d figured out a real plan for handling these issues. Judging by the announcements so far, we were wrong.

Source: Read Full Article