The FT CEO on the need to attract readers under 30

John Ridding

Charlotte Tobitt of Press Gazette interviewed Financial Times CEO John Ridding about its success.

Tobitt writes, “Today, Ridding said, one of the biggest challenges for the FT is creating a meaningful, direct relationship with audiences under 30.

“He described it as ‘one of two key issues’ to be discussed at the FT’s annual senior management strategy meeting being held next month.

“‘It’s obvious why we’ve been around 135 years. If we’re going to be around another 135 years, it’s quite important that we have readers, we have new generations who engage with the FT, and I think for the industry as a whole it’s crucially important.’

“Ridding cited the competition for time with the likes of social media platforms and games, which means news is ‘struggling to get a look in,’ as well as the documented rise in news avoidance.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.