9th Oct 2013 16:40
LONDON (Alliance News) - The Financial Times is set to pare back its print editions to a single global print product in the first half of 2014 according to a memo from editor Lionel Barber, marking a further step in its transition away from the 125 year-old newspaper as it focuses on its digital products.
"This is no time to stand still. The competitive pressures on our business to adapt to an environment where we are increasingly being read on the desktop, smart phone and tablet - remain as strong as ever," Barber said in a memo posted on the FT website.
The move by the Pearson PLC-owned paper is in line with trends across the global industry. Sales of most print newspapers are shrinking as readers increasingly move online, notably through tablet and mobile devices.
The new FT print product will be redesigned to reflect modern tastes and reading habits, Barber said, but he reassured that these changes to the paper would not change the authority and quality of its work.
Barber said the paper will now be driven by the web product rather than the other way round, with more journalists and editors focused on online content and only a small team producing the paper. The print edition will focus instead on providing "news in context", Barber said, and will require "pre-planning and intelligent commissioning."
"The changes will impact the structure of the newsroom - and the way we practise our journalism."
Shares in Pearson, the media and education company that owns the FT Group, closed up 11 pence, or 0.9%, at 1,254 pence Wednesday.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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