OLD Media Moves

Pearson CEO: Never prouder of Financial Times

March 3, 2008

Pearson chief executive Marjorie Scardino said Monday that she was very proud of the performance of The Financial Times as the parent company reported its 2007 financial results.

Financial TimesChris Tryhorn of the Guardian wrote, “Scardino contrasted he FT’s ‘international’ profile with the ‘essentially American’ Wall Street Journal, which since December has been owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

“She downplayed the threat posed by Murdoch, who is believed by many analysts to have the New York Times in his sights more than the FT.

“‘Our strategy is completely different [from the Journal’s],’ Scardino said. ‘The FT’s not [just] about the numbers, it’s about international news and what we grandly and embarrassingly call the people who run the world.

“‘It’s a niche strategy that we will keep to. But we’re always mindful of the Journal as we are always mindful of the Guardian and everybody else.’

“The FT Group brought in sales of £688m, growth of 8% on an underlying basis, with operating profits of £153m.”

Read more here.

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