Fast reactions put us ahead on Greek bombing and snap election

Reuters was ahead of competitors on two big stories by being nimbler, smarter and better prepared on reporting a bomb attack on the stock exchange and the calling of a general election well ahead of rivals. When a car bomb exploded in Athens in the early hours of Sept 2, Reuters reporters realized it was an attack on the bourse, which competitors missed. Bloomberg was forced to quote us 23 minutes later and Dow Jones trailed in 26 minute late. The same day, when Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis called the snap election that bureau chief Dina Kyriakidou had presaged two weeks earlier in an analysis, our bulletin was out four minutes earlier than Bloomberg and nine minutes ahead of Dow Jones. Where others struggled to fully understand Karamanlis when he spoke of a “fresh mandate” half-way through his speech, Kyriakidou correctly realized this was the announcement we had been waiting for. The bureau’s snap analysis, factboxes and profiles explaining what had happened and what would likely happen next – the result of days of preparation — were unmatched by competitors.