Reuters breaks news on Bill Clinton freeing journalists from North Korea

The sentencing by North Korea of two U.S. journalists to 12 years hard labor in June was a major test for Washington in its near-frozen relations with the reclusive state. Its choice to send former president Bill Clinton as emissary was a big surprise, and Reuters was first to quote the North Koreans as saying he had arrived in Pyongyang on August 4. Later in the day, when North Korea’s state news agency issued a report that the two journalists had been pardoned, Reuters was more than six minutes ahead of Bloomberg with the news. This was a top U.S. story during U.S. prime time, but Reuters’ rivals were for those crucial minutes forced to quote other media to tell the tale.