Reuters beats opposition by 12 hours on Dalai Lama speech

It has been 50 years since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and there has been a lot of expectation about what the Buddhist leader might say in a keynote speech marking the event on March 10., Reuters clients had a sneak preview after an advance copy of the speech was obtained — a full 12 hours before it was delivered in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based. Reuters obtained the speech after working contacts late into the night on March 9, finally getting a copy for a story that went out just after midnight. In the speech, the Dalai Lama called on China to accept meaningful autonomy for Tibet while accusing China of creating untold suffering in his homeland. Their story was used by the online editions of the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Washington Post, USA Today, Australian Broadcasting Corp, AOL, Indias Hindustan Times and Malaysias The Star among others. Competitors had to wait another 12 hours for the Dalai Lama to actually deliver his speech.