Dallas / November 26, 2019
 
John Micklethwait, the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, recently shared an internal note with staff on how they will respond to Mike Bloomberg's decision to run for President. Micklethwait's policies demonstrate the problems of liberal groupthink in mainstream media. You don't have to caricature the policy. The joke writes itself.
 
Micklethwait said that Bloomberg News has a tradition of not doing investigative stories on Mike Bloomberg or his family. They will continue that tradition. Micklethwait also thinks it would be unfair if his staff investigated the other Democratic candidates for President. So Bloomberg News will not do investigative work on any Democratic candidate for President. Left unsaid is that Bloomberg News will continue to investigative President Donald Trump.
 
If Micklethwait wants to pursue that line of reasoning, he should prevent Bloomberg News from doing investigative work on President Trump. This is a prime example of liberal bias at the highest levels of journalism.
 
A better strategy is for Bloomberg News to start doing investigative stories on Mike Bloomberg. This would force Bloomberg News to develop more sophisticated editorial structures and test whether that outlet can function as an independent, fact-finding organization.
 
The journalists at Bloomberg News are top tier. It would be very unfortunate if that community of journalists were blocked from investigating any of the Presidential candidates. Also, what happens if Mike Bloomberg wins the Presidency? Will Bloomberg News not investigate a Bloomberg White House? That seems silly.
 
Bloomberg News should define a policy that is fair to the entire political spectrum. One option is to allow Bloomberg News to conduct investigative work on Mike and set up more developed editorial structures so that first-rate journalists can run stories that are critical of a serious contender for the White House.
 
Also, Mike Bloomberg should clarify what he will do with his business empire if he becomes the President. Donald Trump has not meaningfully divested any of his assets since he became the President. Bloomberg can set an example by defining a mature plan. That would help him win the trust of liberal activists he needs if he wants to win the general election. Bloomberg might be able to game his way to the nomination without the support of left-wing activists. But he needs those activists if he wants to do well against Trump in the general election.