From The New York Post | Reuters allowed ‘hostile work environment’ and ‘culture of fear’: union

02/07/2019

The following article originally appeared on The New York Post's website:

Reuters is being roiled by claims that one of its top editors has created a “hostile work environment” and “culture of fear” for her subordinates — and the NewsGuild has blasted management for doing nothing to address the concerns brought to its attention nearly four months ago.

In a “Management Conduct Notice” that the journalists’ union sent on Sept. 21, it claimed Dina Kyriakidou Contini, the US general news editor, had engaged in “bullying, belittling and berating of subordinates for alleged shortcomings.”

It also claimed Kyriakidou Contini engaged in “inappropriate, unsolicited hugging and touching, and the use of patronizing, unprofessional language such as ‘darling,’ ‘sexy,’ and ‘baby’ with subordinates.”

In perhaps the most damaging claim of all for a news pro, it claimed she showed “a lack of editorial judgment or indifference to the facts of a story in process if those facts are at odds with a preconceived notion of a story.”

The roots of the dispute between Reuters journalists and the editor actually stretch back to April 2018, when about 15 reporters signed a protest memo in support of a single reporter who they felt had been subject to an unprofessional degree of put-downs by Kyriakidou Contini.

After the memo, NewsGuild Reuters representative Daniel Grebler and other union officials met with Americas Editor Tiffany Wu and HR reps in late October, and sources said management promised to launch a “thorough investigation.”

But sources say the only person contacted in the “investigation” was the original male reporter who was the subject of the April protest memo. In December, the NewsGuild and the employee were informed that the investigation had concluded and found “nothing actionable.”

The NewsGuild shot back with a new memo on Jan. 11, blasting the company for its inaction on the long-simmering matter.

Kyriakidou Contini did not return calls or e-mails seeking comment.

“As a matter of policy, we cannot comment on individual personnel matters,” said a Reuters spokeswoman. “Reuters is committed to providing a safe and respectful work environment and does not tolerate inappropriate workplace conduct of any kind.”

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