Financial Times

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Lore & Background

The Financial Times was launched as the London Financial Guide on 10 January 1888, renaming itself the Financial Times on 13 February the same year. It was first circulated around metropolitan London by James Sheridan, who, along with his brother and Horatio Bottomley, sought to report on city business opposite the Financial News. On 2 January 1893, the FT began printing on light pink paper to distinguish it from the similarly named Financial News. The pink tint came from the colour of the China clay they began sourcing from the Bodelva clay pit near St Austell, Cornwall, and at the time, it was cheaper not to bleach the paper. The Berry brothers, Lord Camrose and Gomer Berry (later Lord Kemsley), purchased the Financial Times in 1919. In 1945, Brendan Bracken purchased the Financial Times from Lord Camrose, and, following 57 years of rivalry, merged it with the Financial News to form a single six-page newspaper. The "Lex" column was also introduced from Financial News. With this purchase and merger, Bracken is credited as being "the effective founding father of the modern Financial Times, Britain's highest quality daily newspaper."

Gordon Newton, a Cambridge graduate, took over as editor in 1949, and immediately introduced a policy of direct recruitment of new university graduates, mainly from Oxbridge, as its trainee journalists. The first such "direct recruit" was future leading British economist Andrew Shonfield; the second was (later Sir) William Rees-Mogg, who went on, via The Sunday Times, to edit The Times in 1967. Other FT Oxbridge recruits included the future Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson. Meanwhile, Pearson had bought the paper in 1957. On 1 January 1979 the first FT (Continental Europe edition) was printed outside the UK, in Frankfurt; printing in the US began in July 1985. Since then, the FT has become a global newspaper, printed in 22 locations with five international editions. In 1994 FT launched a luxury lifestyle magazine, How To Spend It. On 13 May 1995 the Financial Times group launched FT.com. In 2007 the FT pioneered a metered paywall. In July 2015, Pearson sold the Financial Times Group to Nikkei, Inc. for £844 million (US$1.32 billion).

Reader's Guide

The Financial Times has been a central institution in financial journalism since its founding in 1888, evolving from a four-page London guide to a global newspaper printed in 22 locations with five international editions. Its editorial stance centres on economic liberalism, particularly advocacy of free trade and free markets, and it has traditionally been regarded as a centrist to centre-right liberal, neo-liberal, and conservative-liberal newspaper. The FT's depth of coverage has linked it with a white-collar, educated, and financially literate readership. Its innovations include the salmon-pink newsprint, the FTSE All-Share Index, and a pioneering metered paywall introduced in 2007 that let visitors read a limited number of free articles before asking them to pay. In 2012, the number of digital subscribers surpassed the circulation of the newspaper for the first time and the FT drew almost half of its revenue from subscriptions rather than advertising. The paper's significance lies in its role as a newspaper of record for global business and economic affairs, with a readership that spans the UK, continental Europe, the US, Asia, and the Middle East. Its merger with the Financial News in 1945 and subsequent international expansion under Pearson and later Nikkei have solidified its position as one of the largest business newspapers in the world.

Did You Know?

• The FT began printing on light pink paper on 2 January 1893 because the China clay from the Bodelva clay pit in Cornwall was cheaper not to bleach.
• The FT was launched as the London Financial Guide on 10 January 1888 and renamed itself the Financial Times on 13 February the same year.
• In 1945, Brendan Bracken purchased the Financial Times and merged it with the Financial News after 57 years of rivalry, introducing the 'Lex' column.
• The first FT printed outside the UK was the Continental Europe edition in Frankfurt on 1 January 1979.
• In 2012, the number of digital subscribers surpassed the circulation of the newspaper for the first time.