 | Andrew Gowers
Editor-in-Chief |
The FT, high in ambition, consistent in values.
The ambition of the Financial Times is to be the best business newspaper in the world. Our editorial values support that goal, and our priorities are different from those of other news organizations.
We concentrate our efforts and resources on our chosen area - business, the economy, and everything which helps to explain how they work. Because we are used by people as part of their work, we place a very high premium on the accuracy and authority of what we write.
We are more internationally-minded than most of our competitors. This is partly because of the way the paper has its roots in its reporting of the UK economy, which has long been one of the most open in the world, and partly because of the success of the City of London as one of the world's great international financial markets. The City's international reach has expanded considerably over the past thirty years and so has that of the newspaper.
The Financial Times is also unlike most of its rivals in its relationship with its proprietor. Pearson has owned the company for 40 years. It understands and respects the value of editorial integrity, and goes to great lengths to support the newspaper's independent approach to reporting and analysis.
The Financial Times has at least three core strengths that will continue to ensure the FT's pre-eminence in the increasingly competitive business of news.
First, we have a very strong brand name, which represents above all the core values of accuracy and authority.
The FT brand is becoming recognised around the world. The increasing use of English as the language of business, along with falling costs of communication, have together made it possible for the Financial Times to establish itself in a growing number of markets outside the UK.
The second crucial strength of the newspaper lies in its editing resources. The world is drowning in data; readers need a reliable source of information to help identify the developments which matter to them, and put them into context.
The aim each day is to select those news developments which are most likely to matter to our particular group of readers, and to publish them in a way that gives a clear sense of their relative importance and makes them easily accessible.
The third essential component of the Financial Times is the quality of its journalists. We have many more specialist reporters and editors than most of our competitors. Their job is to add value to raw news items by using their experience, and also by helping to put everything into context. The aim is to publish material which is regarded as being authoritative even by those most closely involved with what is being written about.
In the future, the Financial Times aims to consolidate and strengthen its position in the UK market, and to achieve significant international growth. News priorities of the domestic and international editions will be reshaped to make them more relevant to readers in different geographical regions. But the core values and editorial goals of the newspaper will be unchanged, and consistent everywhere.
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