The History of the Financial Times Newspaper

The history of some news publications demonstrates how innovation can keep a business competitive for several centuries. One such example is the Financial Times (FT) a financial newspaper established in London in January 1888 by James Sheridan and his brother (Financial Times [FT], 2022). The first issue of the FT came out in London on February 13, 1888 the newspaper had only four pages (Kynaston, 2018). The description read: a friend of The Honest Financier and The Respectable Broker, the enemy of The Unprincipled Promoter and The Gambling Operator (Kynaston, 2018, p. 2). Thus, the intended audience included financial experts, brokers, economists, and other professionals in business and economics based in London.

However, the FT did not limit its focus to the UK, expanding its outreach and readership. In 1945, the FT merged with another paper with similar interests the Financial News (Kynaston, 2018). As a result of this merger, the new FT was quickly becoming one of the leaders in the financial media segment (Kynaston, 2018). In 1957, the FT was purchased by Pearson, a British publisher focused on media, oil, and education (Kynaston, 2018). This acquisition allowed the newspaper to expand to the global market and become known worldwide.

As a result of these acquisitions and expansions, the FT also changed its approach to content with time. For example, in 1994, it introduced its award-winning luxury lifestyle magazine, How to Spend It, which became a benchmark in FT history (Kynaston, 2018). In 1995, the FT was among the first newspapers to launch their own website, and in 2002, the newspaper introduced an online subscription service a standard for online-based media today (Kynaston, 2018). Thus, the publication changed more than the topics it covered it grew into a large organization with offline and online products and a global approach to news media.

The FT has reached its international status both in readership and ownership. In 2015, a Japanese holding company, Nikkei, purchased the FT from Pearson (FT, 2022). The FT is a publication with multiple headquarters in different parts of the world, and it continues to be a major player in print and digital media. Its online newspaper has more than one million subscriptions, which helps the FT to support its website (Kynaston, 2018). Since 2017, the FT functions under the new slogan, We live in Financial Times (FT, 2022). This phrase demonstrates that the FT now has a global outlook on media.

The FT is easily recognized in online and print forms the text is printed on salmon-colored paper. The newspaper consists of opinion columns, special reports, political cartoons, readers letters, book reviews, technology articles, and global politics. Most FT readers live outside the UK and predominantly work in finance and politics (Kynaston, 2018). Therefore, the influence of the FT on American readers is substantial, as the FT is considered a trustworthy economic publication (FT, 2022). The global audience of the newspaper is approximately 31 million, and more than 10 million readers come from North and South America (FT, 2022). Moreover, it is stated that every third subscription to the online newspaper belongs to a reader from the United States (FT, 2022). Thus, the FT can be considered a major source of information for Americans and a significant part of American culture.

Throughout the centuries, the FT grew from a city-focused newspaper into a global media corporation with a vast international readership. The history of the FT shows that the business is not resistant to innovation and change. The newspaper effectively uses print and online media, having expanded its focus to politics, technology, climate, and other topics (FT, 2022). Furthermore, the readership of the FT continues to grow, enduring such crises as the COVID-19 pandemic (FT, 2022). Based on these aspects, one may argue that the FT will continue thriving as a strong competitor in the media market.