Reuters dominates Ivory Coast post-election power struggle

Reuters strong presence in the Ivory Coast put it first on April 4 with the key developments of a violent post-election power struggle in the world’s top cocoa grower — from the start of Ouattara’s final offensive in the main city Abidjan, to Gbagbo’s eventual capture on April 11 and plans for reviving the West African state’s shattered economy. The stakes were high for Reuters clients, as the outcome of the conflict held crucial implications for cocoa shipments and the repayment of the country’s multi-billion dollar Eurobond. Journalists in Abidjan reported the news non-stop as fighting raged around them, delivering updates on where combat was concentrated, the role of U.N. and French helicopter gunships, and the comments of both sides and residents stuck in the middle. Reuters text, television and pictures also reported on-site the amassing of Ouattara’s troops at Abidjan’s northern gateway for a ‘final offensive’, the only news team to do so, signaling the height of the conflict was fast approaching and jolting cocoa futures lower and the Eurobond higher. Close contacts with Ivorian sources in Paris gave Reuters a solid win on Gbagbo’s eventual capture, a scoop quickly confirmed by Ouattara’s camp in Abidjan. As Ouattara took his first steps at asserting his power over the country, Reuters was first to report his comments on Gbagbo’s whereabouts and plans to ‘immediately’ restart the flow of cocoa, held up for months at the nation’s ports. Reporters in Abidjan kept in touch with cocoa industry players throughout the conflict, providing a slew of unmatched dispatches on operations at the nation’s plantations and ports.