Turning Japanese: FT journalists have a yen to get on with new owners
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Version 0 of 1. Financial Times journalists reacted with shock and wry, occasionally dark humour at the 127-year-old newspaper’s surprise £844m purchase by Japanese media group Nikkei. The head of the FT’s Lex column, Robert Armstrong, said the column would be overhauled with immediate effect and described the sale as a “goddamn bargain”. Lex column to publish exclusively in anime, effective immediately Nikkei pays ~$2.4m per FT journalist. A goddamn bargain if you ask me. He wasn’t the only one impressed by the £844m price tag. @meganmurp Well, the 35x earnings is for the whole FT Gruop, and they are not buying that. I think it's more like 70x Reporter James Wilson said the sale could only be good news for the Alphaville, the FT’s daily news and commentary service. Alphaville, you see, is also the name of a German band best known for their 1984 single ... well, you can see for yourself. FT sale to Nikkei will be good for @FTAlphaville https://t.co/IduI04guAT US-based Ben McLannahan didn’t hang around - or mince his tweets - in the aftermath of the sale. Nikkei CEO: "we share the same journalistic values". Really I for one welcome our new Japanese overlords (that's me in the middle) pic.twitter.com/OiASublv0A Staff packed into a room at One Southwark Bridge to hear from Pearson’s chief executive John Fallon, FT Group boss John Ridding and editor Lionel Barber after news of the sale broke on Thursday afternoon. FT meeting pic.twitter.com/PULNrQC4VL The best running commentary – Barber said it was “not a shotgun marriage” – came from departing deputy political editor, Beth Rigby, who hit the ground running ahead of her new role as media editor of the Times.. Fallon "loves" the FT. But he also says FT is better served by being owned by a co completely focused on the best journalism in the world Barber. "I have every reason to believe and expect Nikkei will respect this vital principle: editorial independence" #FT Barber in Q&A: "This was not and is not a shot gun marriage there has been hours of conversation about this" #FTsale This was the scene. Pearson says goodbye #FT pic.twitter.com/UYdZdslvmc With the FT’s London HQ not part of the sale, property editor Kate Allen pointed out the difficulty of finding a new home in the capital (but did not actually reference the FT or its sale, it should be pointed out). Worst possible time for a London business to embark on a search for new space, incidentally. Big shortfall of space, rents spiking. On a similar note... Wondering where we're moving to now @FT has been sold. Note Nikkei's London editorial HQ is a leafy lane in Winkfield, Berkshire. The FT’s executive comment editor Mark Vandevelde reported on an exchange between the paper’s editor, Lionel Barber, and Pearson chief executive John Fallon at a staff meeting after the sale was announced. "That's the first and last order I'll take from you as proprietor", says FT ed @lionelbarber after Fallon tells hacks to press mute. Earlier all eyes in the newsroom had been on the screens as details of the deal broke. In the FT newsroom as the Nikkei deal news breaks. pic.twitter.com/A9waAAOos9 Here are some other responses from FT insiders Smug colleague is sending emails in Japanese #sigh In 1987 Pearson sold the FT's building to a Japanese buyer and kept the paper. Now it's selling the paper and keeping the building. Discuss. Nikkei’s core value is "Long-Time Policy Over Free Market System". Still, their English beats Pearson's Harvard-wannabe management-speak. Wait! Did we get sold? No wonder newsroom so distracted. I thought it was cricket. https://t.co/da4Qutg7Sj Earlier reports had suggested that the paper might be bought by Axel Springer. And here I was spending all day learning German. |