Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The fallout from Citigroup Inc.'s ouster of executive Todd Thomson over his relationship with CNBC television anchor Maria Bartiromo is spilling into the profession of journalism, where professors don't like what they see.

Bartiromo traveled from Asia on Citigroup's private jet last year after Thomson, who headed the company's brokerage and private bank, bumped Citigroup executives from the flight, said a person with knowledge of the matter. Thomson approved a $5 million sponsorship for a television series Bartiromo was to co- anchor. She also was named to the Leadership Advisory Board that Thomson founded at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia.

Thomson was interviewed by Bartiromo at least three times, including once since she joined the Wharton board. That gives the public reason to question whether they're getting objective reporting, said Bob Steele, who teaches journalism ethics at Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.

``To say these are personnel matters and shouldn't be talked about publicly would be disingenuous when journalism itself is all about shining the light of scrutiny on powerful people,'' said Steele. ``It's essential that she and CNBC address these issues.''

Bartiromo declined to comment on the matter last week in Davos, Switzerland, where she was covering the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. Thomson, 45, hasn't returned repeated calls to his home in Connecticut.

Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television compete with CNBC, owned by General Electric Co. of Fairfield, Connecticut, in providing financial news and information.

CNBC's Statement

Citigroup Chief Executive Officer Charles Prince declined to comment on the reasons for Thomson's dismissal in a Jan. 22 interview. Leah Johnson, a spokesman for New York-based Citigroup, the biggest U.S. bank, declined to comment as details of Thomson's relationship with Bartiromo emerged during the week.

The 39-year-old Bartiromo is ``one of the most prolific and well-respected financial journalists in the industry, who works tirelessly around the world in the service of business journalism,'' CNBC said in a Jan. 25 statement. ``In 2006 alone, she made 46 public appearances on behalf of CNBC. Her travel has been company-related and approved, and involved legitimate business assignments.''

Bartiromo flew back with Thomson in November from CNBC's Asia Business Leaders Awards in Hong Kong. CNBC spokesman Kevin Goldman, who's based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, said the flight was approved in advance and payment was arranged. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Thomson traveled on the corporate jet with a group of Citigroup executives on the way to Asia and then returned to the U.S. with Bartiromo.

`Brand-Creation'

Edward Wasserman, the Knight Professor of journalism at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, said CNBC's response suggests the company is more interested in Bartiromo's value as an envoy than her independence.

``I locate the problem with CNBC,'' he said. ``They have obviously been using her and their other high-profile people as brand-creation devices and encouraging them to cozy up to people in the financial community.''

On Jan. 16, Bartiromo sought to trademark her ``money honey'' moniker for use on children's television shows, games, T-shirts, dishes and bookbags, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Web site.

Bartiromo regularly breaks news and gets exclusive interviews with CEOs. She reported in July 2005 that then- Citigroup Chairman Sanford Weill planned to step down to start a private-equity fund, a story the company denied.

`Ethical Dilemmas'

Bartiromo created a stir in May after she reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told her investors misinterpreted his congressional testimony on when the central bank might stop raising interest rates. Her conversation with Bernanke, which took place at the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner in Washington, roiled the Treasury bond and currency markets when Bartiromo reported his comments two days later.

``There are so many ethical dilemmas that we face in the ordinary course of trying to do our jobs that we should avoid creating new and difficult ones by engaging in relationships with people we're covering,'' said Bob Zelnick, a journalism professor at Boston University and a former ABC News correspondent.

Bartiromo interviewed Thomson after he named her to the advisory board at Wharton, his alma mater. During that Aug. 1, 2005, interview, which covered Citigroup's agreement to swap its asset-management for Legg Mason Inc.'s brokerage, Bartiromo didn't mention her involvement with Thomson on the Wharton board, according to a transcript.

Sundance Channel

Thomson had been warned about his spending and judgment by Prince and Weill, said four people with knowledge of those circumstances. It was Weill, 73, who hired Thomson in 1998 and promoted him to chief financial officer in 2000.

Prince, 57, once considered Thomson a possible successor and in 2004 moved him to run wealth management, a division that includes the Smith Barney brokerage, Citigroup's private bank and its equity-research department.

The unit thrived under Thomson's oversight, with revenue growth of 17 percent last year. Yet at the same time employees began referring to the wealth-management division's new, 50th- floor headquarters overlooking New York's Central Park as the ``Todd Mahal'' because of the costs to build it.

In December, the Smith Barney brokerage agreed to a two- year, $5 million sponsorship of ``The Green,'' a TV program on the Sundance Channel, said a person with direct knowledge of those plans. Bartiromo was scheduled to co-host a segment on the series.

Krawcheck's Return

Smith Barney executives had studied the opportunity for six months and Thomson believed the agreement, which included commitments by actor Robert Redford to appear at Citigroup client events and sit for interviews with a company-produced magazine, would be good for the brokerage, the person said.

Backers at Citigroup decided that Bartiromo's role was minor and didn't present a potential conflict, the person said. Citigroup remains a sponsor and will promote the Sundance series about six weeks before its April debut, the person said.

Citigroup said in a Jan. 22 statement that Thomson was leaving immediately to ``pursue other interests.''

He's being replaced by Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck, 42. Krawcheck joined the company in 2002, originally as head of wealth management, to restore Smith Barney's reputation after the unit faced accusations of publishing biased research. She became CFO two years later after swapping jobs with Thomson.

Citigroup plans to cut more than $1 billion in costs this year as part of Prince's effort to boost profit growth, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. The company today announced that it has agreed to buy Prudential Plc's Egg Internet banking unit for 575 million pounds ($1.1 billion), quadrupling its credit card customers in Britain.

To contact the reporters on this story: Justin Baer in New York at jbaer1@bloomberg.net; Michael White in Los Angeles at Mwhite8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 29, 2007 15:39 EST