OPEC bars Reuters, Bloomberg, WSJ from weekend policy meetings.

OPEC Denies Media Access to Reuters, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal Reporters

“We believe that transparency and a free press serve both readers and markets, and we object to this restriction on coverage,” a spokesperson for Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters Corp, said on Friday.

OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has denied media access to reporters from Reuters, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal to report on oil policy meetings in Vienna this weekend. The three media organizations are among the world’s leading suppliers of financial news and information, reporting on the outcome of policy meetings between OPEC and its allies, where ministers make decisions that impact the price of the world’s most traded commodity.

Ministers from the group, which pumps more than 40% of the world’s oil supply, are scheduled to gather on Saturday and Sunday for regular biannual meetings. However, OPEC staff declined on Friday to give media accreditation to Reuters journalists to cover the event. Without accreditation, journalists cannot enter the OPEC Secretariat where the ministers meet, or attend press conferences during the event.

Transparency and a Free Press

Reporters from the three outlets, many of whom have been covering OPEC meetings for years, did not receive invitations from OPEC ahead of the meeting. A spokesperson for Reuters said, “Reuters will continue to cover OPEC in an independent, impartial, and reliable way in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.”

While reporters at other media outlets, including trade publications Argus and Platts, received accreditation on Friday, the lack of transparency and media access has raised concerns about OPEC’s decision-making process and the impact on global oil prices.

• Reporters from Reuters, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal were denied media access to report on OPEC’s oil policy meetings in Vienna this weekend.
• Without accreditation, journalists cannot enter the OPEC Secretariat where the ministers meet, or attend press conferences during the event.
• Transparency and a free press are essential to serving both readers and markets.