Screenshot of Jennifer Jacobs from C-Span.
Bloomberg News has reportedly fired its long-time senior White House correspondent, Jennifer Jacobs, over her article prematurely breaking the news that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich had been freed by Russia in a major prisoner swap, according to several reporters on X. Jacobs and Cagan Koc, the Amsterdam bureau chief, broke an embargo that all other media outlets had agreed to and published the scoop at 7:41 AM on Thursday, August 1. This was well before Gershkovich and other freed prisoners had been transferred to US custody, sending government officials and the media into a frenzy over whether the article could jeopardize a delicate deal between international foes.
The article also falsely claimed that the prisoners were “en route to destinations outside of Russia,” which was not true at the time Bloomberg pressed publish. The deal went through as planned, but the article broke universal standards of reporting.
The salt in the wound was a Bloomberg editor’s celebration of its so-called scoop on social media: “It is one of the greatest honors of my career to have helped break this news,” the editor posted, according to New York Magazine. Since then, Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait sent an email to staff admitting that breaking the embargo was a grave mistake and saying that “we have today taken disciplinary action against a number of those involved.”
Jacobs has reported for Bloomberg for eight years, according to her LinkedIn profile, and has been one of the newsroom’s most celebrated journalists, known for her insider access to Trump. Bloomberg declined to comment for this article. Jacobs did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
