Growth coming at Financial Times

Nikkei has pledged to back the expansion of the Financial Times, writes Daniel Thomas of the FT.

Thomas writes, “Lionel Barber, editor of the FT, said Nikkei would ‘invest and deliver a fresh wave of innovation in editorial in 2016.’

“He pointed to the development of comment and analysis across digital platforms and the planned investment of greater resources in expanding the FT Alphaville financial blog, using an internal editorial innovation fund.

“Video would be a third focus for expansion, he added, as it was a ‘crucial element of the FT’s text-plus journalism.’

“‘We will sharpen our offering to give our viewers more of what they want, and develop new forms shaped around what we do best,’ he said.

“Nikkei struck the deal to acquire the FT for £844m in July, bringing down the curtain on Pearson’s 58-year ownership of the business at a time of upheaval in the global media industry. The acquisition of the FT is the largest international media deal by a Japanese company.”

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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.