FT benefits from Murdoch ownership of WSJ

Heidi Dawley of Media Life magazine writes Thursday that the Financial Times is actually benefitting from Rupert Murdoch‘s ownership of The Wall Street Journal.

Dawley writes, “The FT has several things working in its favor, and one is that the paper is much stronger these days. After working its way out of the last recession rather painfully, cutting costs sharply to return to profit, it’s a better paper, and better prepared to weather this recession and Murdoch as well.

“’In terms of quality, the FT is better than it was,’ says Usman Ghazi, media analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort. ‘Compared to the last downturn, it will fare better.’

“Under new editor Lionel Barber and chief executive John Ridding, the FT has refined its strategy, reshuffling its properties. It has sold off stakes it had in country-specific publications in France and Germany as part of its aim to be a unified, global brand that reaches C-level executives through its five regional editions.

“‘Our strategy is a very global one,’ says the FT’s Hughes. ‘We believe that we are a very niche newspaper and that we cover business and finance better than most.'”

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