FT and Nikkei to open joint Houston bureau

The Financial Times and Nikkei will open the first joint bureau in their international editorial network in Houston.

The news organizations have taken the step because of the growing importance of the global energy transition story, which is shaking up the oil and gas giants based in across Texas.

The Financial Times has appointed energy veteran Justin Jacobs as its Houston correspondent. Jacobs, who joined the FT’s natural resources team in late 2020, joins a growing team headed by New York-based US energy editor Derek Brower, who has relaunched the FT’s Energy Source newsletter and expanded its industry coverage.

Nikkei has appointed Ryosuke Hanafusa as Houston bureau chief to expand the Japanese publisher’s coverage of the sector and the American economy more broadly. Hanafusa was previously energy editor at The Nikkei in Tokyo and earlier served as a correspondent in Cairo and Istanbul.

Peter Spiegel, U.S. managing editor of the FT, said: “Americans have shown up to read FT stories in record numbers over the last year, helping us set two all-time traffic highs for FT.com. There’s clearly a growing appetite for FT content out of the US – both among our American and non-American audience – and having a physical presence in Houston will bring us even closer to the big energy stories that our readers want.”

Nikkei acquired the FT in 2015.