Ford named Reuters commentary editor

Reuters News announced Tuesday the appointment of correspondent Jonathan Ford to the role of Reuters commentary editor, effective Dec. 11, according to an internal announcement.

Ford, who will be based in London, will drive the development of commentary for Reuters worldwide, looking at opportunities to enhance Reuters international news offering and to give additional insight and expertise.

Columns were first introduced in 2007 as part of Reuters editorial strategy to provide added insight, analysis and a range of views to Thomson Reuters clients and readers.

Reuters columns provide context, expertise and opinion on diverse topics such as commodities and energy, macroeconomics, technology, European policy, emerging markets and M&A. In his role as commentary editor, Ford will increase the variety of columns offered and lead the existing global expert team that currently includes Jim Saft, Bernd Debusmann, Wei Gu, Paul Taylor, John Kemp, Eric Auchard, Andy Home and Alex Smith.

“A journalist of Jonathan’s experience and stature will add true insight to our coverage,� said editor-in-chief David Schlesinger. “I’m delighted that he will lead this important part of our editorial offering and very much look forward to him joining the team.�

Ford is an internationally-regarded editor and journalist, and for the past 15 years, has written for publications that include Prospect, The Financial Times, The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, and the Economist, and is also an experienced broadcast journalist, appearing on BBC News, CNN and CNBC.

“I’m very excited about joining Reuters and am looking forward to the challenge of extending the world’s pre-eminent financial news brand further into the realm of commentary and opinion,� said Ford.

From 2000 to 2007, Ford was a founder and deputy editor of Breakingviews.com, the financial commentary website. Prior to that, he was a journalist on the Financial Times, where he was a member of the Lex column, and a financial reporter on the Evening Standard.Â