Q&A

Our team recently sat down with Leah Harrison Singer to discuss her role and responsibilities as Editor for Bloomberg QuickTakes, the latest trends and topics in the news, and the impact of explanatory journalism.

As the editor of Bloomberg QuickTakes, what are some of your key priorities?

We’re a team of veteran editors who surf the news for hot stories and trending topics that need some extra explanation. We galvanize the newsroom to tell their tales in accessible, fun-to-read formats: Rapid-fire “QuickTake Q&As” on breaking news, succinct “QuickTake” topic guides; plus videos, scorecards and other layouts. Our aim is to make the hard stuff easy for readers by providing an entry point to current debates. It’s all about widening the audience. We’re often part of the big story of the day — be it an election in France or a missile launch in North Korea — but we’re also fishing for quirky, surprising or gritty stories that we can bring to light from all corners of the globe.

What is the primary goal of Bloomberg QuickTakes?

To tap the expertise of Bloomberg’s army of 2,600 journalists and analysts in 120 countries. We shepherd their deep knowledge of oil markets, economic indicators or technology into authoritative and approachable pieces that fill contextual gaps. QuickTakes focus on issues that tend to get lost in the bustle of regular coverage. The goal is to write for both lay readers and terminal clients (who are all lay readers on subjects beyond their own specialties). We help them get their heads around thorny topics so that they can be more intelligent consumers of news. Some QuickTakes illuminate countries of interest, others tackle new types of investments. Some elucidate the issues people talk about at cocktail parties but don’t really understand — topics like El Nino, genetically modified food or the legalization of marijuana.

How has Bloomberg expanded its QuickTake franchise since its launch?

We started with 650-word explainers in a fixed format in October 2013, and since then we’ve covered more than 250 issues. Unlike stories that come and go, we’re constantly updating QuickTakes as events unfold. So if you pick up our piece on Syria’s civil war today, it looks very different than when it was first published. About a year ago we responded to the need for more context around breaking news by cooking up an easily digestible Q&A format that’s been a big hit with readers and on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. We now publish a couple of these every day. We also produce video versions of many QuickTakes, working with our digital video teams to craft beautifully animated pieces that explain vexing topics like cybersecurity or the fight over drug prices. Those are hugely popular on social media and with schools.

Which trends and topics are shaping 2017?

President Donald Trump is keeping us pretty busy; there’s a lot to explain there. Because he’s challenging the political and economic mainstream, we’re returning to many “Economics-101”-type topics like the trade deficit, unemployment and infrastructure spending. Explaining how Trump is part of a broader wave of populism that has engulfed the Philippines, India, Hungary, Poland, France and the Netherlands has been a fascinating story to tell.

Which issues are you looking forward to covering this year?

We’ll have more politics with elections in Iran and Germany. We’re also fascinated by the evolution of electric cars — and driverless ones. Demystifying the workings of some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds is another area we’d like to focus on, while keeping an eye on the big unwind of stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks. Then there’s the human biome, Hindu nationalism and yellow fever in Brazil.

How has the media landscape changed since you joined Bloomberg in 1994?

When I started with Bloomberg after journalism school, we were a small band of cowboys creating a news organization one phone call at a time, learning as we went along. It’s always been a place for adrenalin junkies, but the firehose of news now blasts out facts and events with such relentless force that I’ve had to develop new ways to cope. The internet is indispensable, but misinformation abounds. It’s made me realize what a privilege it is to be able to call up any one of my 2,400 colleagues and have them walk me through a story like we’re chatting in a bar. That’s the insight we’re passing on through QuickTakes.

What makes explanatory journalism so valuable?

Authoritative, factual journalism seems to grow more precious each day in an era of unreliable or even fake news. As global events veer away from the predictable, articles that can provide clarity carry a premium. So explanatory journalism is a counterweight to the barrage of “this-just-in” news. It also requires a different type of storytelling, one that can make Bloomberg’s stories come alive for audiences who may not know our brand. When my 16-year-old son or my 81-year-old mother gets curious about a QuickTake on Afghanistan or hedge funds, I know we’re doing it right. Explanatory formats are also great for reading on mobile devices because they’re modular, visual and concise.

– Gabriela Tama