I think we're in danger of over-analysing Reuter's thinking on this. They simply don't understand the nature of processing that takes a raw image from the sensor and creates a jpeg.
What's the difference between a photographer setting white balance, picture control (or equivalent) settings, colour space etc on the camera or in PP? Both might alter tone, contrast, colour and so on in the same way. One resulted from a decision taken before the shutter was pressed, one after. Is it more real to make that decision from a guess beforehand?
As everyone says, a raw image is closer to "reality" than a jpeg - but even that's not reality. Exposure settings alter the tone and feel of the image, shutter speed and DoF also alter the "reality". Filters alter the colour...
And IMHO anyone that thinks any photograph represents some objective reality just hasn't thought about it. Point of view, composition (what to include in the image and what to exclude), lens, context - a thousand subjective decisions the photographer makes alter the "reality" of the image.
Homing in on raw vs. jpeg suggests a serious lack of understanding by Reuters.
