Retiring FT editor hits upon some important notes

I seldom turn to editors’ farewells for inspiration. Here is an exception!

Lionel Barber led the Financial Times through a rough patch. Barber outlined some major challenges and happening of his 14-year tenure as FT editor: the global financial crisis and its aftermath, the rise of China as a global superpower and the “upheaval” of technological change. Also, under his editorship the FT passed 1m paying subscribers and twice won News Provider of the Year at the British Journalism Awards, the first news title to have done so in the awards’ eight-year history, including in 2019.

It is here that my interest lies when it comes to Barber’s farewell speech to his staff, especially in this area:

Technological advances and journalism

Lionel said the arrival of the smartphone had “changed everybody’s lives, including how the media works”.

But he warned there would be “more disruption to come” with the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence, adding: “For me it’s a bit man versus machines and the journalists, we need to take back control again.”

I was particularly impressed by the following statement by Barber:

“The human mind cannot be replicated,” he said. “I think judgment is massively important in today’s media. You know all about fake news – that’s an often used term, but this notion of disinformation, misinformation, what can you trust?

I believe that this is a question that members of the audience keep asking, and I know that editors often discuss it as well. With technological advances, which we welcome, also come the challenges of too much information traveling too fast in a mobile first era. More power to the role of content managers in the newsroom, the “humans” who chase and follow stories, who curate content and who tend to the important points Barber made in his farewell speech: journalists taking control!

Read all about it here

https://pressgazette.co.uk/lionel-barber-take-back-control-machines-last-interview-ft-editor/

New editor for the FT

Roula Khalaf is the new editor of the FT. As a subscriber, I have just
received an email from Ms. Khalaf about her new job and expectations.
Here is her note:

Dear Mario, I am writing to you on my first day as editor of the Financial Times to say how excited and privileged I feel to take the reins at one of the world’s great news organisations. I have spent 25 years at the FT covering world affairs, from the Iraq war and Arab Spring to the US-China trade dispute and forging of new global silk roads. As deputy editor for the last three years, I have been responsible for the FT’s wider news agenda and the big business stories that have shaped the world.
Our readers depend on the FT to make strategic decisions during a period of global disruption and upheaval. It is our mission to ensure that the FT helps you separate important facts from the noise. I am passionate about the FT’s role as the champion of independent, analytical and international journalism: you can expect the FT to remain a source of truth as we guide you through the turbulence of populism, trade disputes, tech wars and climate change.
There is much to unravel in this emerging new agenda.I want to thank Lionel Barber, who leaves the FT in great shape after a remarkable 35-year career at the paper and 14 years as editor, as well as our 600 journalists around the world who deliver the stories that count.Most of all, I want to thank you for your loyal support of the FT’s mission and quality journalism. Holding the powerful to account and promoting principled leadership are essential as we enter this new decade and a new chapter. We could not do it without you.I look forward to getting to know you better.Roula Khalaf

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