FT journalists issue vote of no confidence for CEO Ridding

Journalists at the Financial Times have passed a vote of no confidence in newspaper chief executive John Ridding, reports Mark Sweney of The Guardian.

Sweney reports, “Relations between the National Union of Journalists chapel at the Financial Times and management hit rock bottom in the summer when it emerged that Ridding had been paid £2.6m while the newspaper made an operating profitof £5.2m, prompting a backlash that saw him hand back about £500,000. The FT Group, the parent company of the newspaper, made more than £20m in profits.

“The NUJ chapel has now passed a vote of no confidence in Ridding after a fractious “town hall” meeting on Monday that was streamed live to all staff.

“In a statement the chapel said Ridding had not acknowledged or addressed serious concerns at the Financial Times in the speech broadcast to staff. The live broadcast was stopped at the end of formal speeches, meaning staff not in attendance were not able to watch the following debate about the issues.

“‘In the middle of a dispute over transparency, better governance and high executive pay at the FT, John Ridding failed to acknowledge or even address serious staff concerns over these matters in his speech to staff,’ said the chapel in a motion.”

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