The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
1–10 of 58 posts
Re: The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
#2There are a handful of global news brands with readers that are willing/able to pay significant subscription fees for. FT is one of them but US readers mostly consider them the European WSJ and subscribe to the WSJ if they are willing to pay for that sort of thing.
I'm not sure the FT makes sense for US readers on a budget. Personally I do the NYT and Economist so it's not like I don't pay for news and commentary but that's probably about my limit.
Re: The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
#3Who is FT for, compared to other premium news outlets in the United States?
In the recent years I’ve been shopping around a news subscription, trying to avoid clickbait and thought bubbles. I don’t think I understand their target audience, even after reading the entire interview.
Re: The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
#4Who is FT for, compared to other premium news outlets in the United States? In the recent years I’ve been shopping around a news subscription, trying to avoid clickbait and thought bubbles. I don’t think I understand their target audience, even after reading the entire interview.
It's basically WSJ with a somewhat more global perspective, and Euro-centric instead of US-centric.
Re: The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
#5There are a handful of global news brands with readers that are willing/able to pay significant subscription fees for. FT is one of them but US readers mostly consider them the European WSJ and subscribe to the WSJ if they are willing to pay for that sort of thing. I'm not sure the FT makes sense for US readers on a budget. Personally I do the NYT and Economist so it's not like I don't pay for news and commentary but…
> I'm not sure the FT makes sense for US readers on a budget.
As you note, they're inherently an upmarket brand like the WSJ not a blue collar read like the NY POST. Readers "on a budget" are probably not an interesting market for their sales-seeking advertisers or any influence-seeking investors or editors.
What they probably see is the endless fracturing of American media among its deep political fault lines and opportunity to position as a WSJ competitor with a more transatlantic and global angle on topics of US interest.
Re: The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
#6Who is FT for, compared to other premium news outlets in the United States? In the recent years I’ve been shopping around a news subscription, trying to avoid clickbait and thought bubbles. I don’t think I understand their target audience, even after reading the entire interview.
It's basically WSJ with a somewhat more global perspective, and Euro-centric instead of US-centric.
In my anecdotal experience, they're usually the first to scoop big Japanese business stories. (Some kind of Nikkei -> FT pipeline?)
Edit-
> It’s been owned by the Japanese company Nikkei, Inc. — an employee-owned company that publishes The Nikkei newspaper — since 2015.
Okay that makes sense now, haha.
Nikkei is employee-owned?! I need to look into this more!
Re: The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
#7There are a handful of global news brands with readers that are willing/able to pay significant subscription fees for. FT is one of them but US readers mostly consider them the European WSJ and subscribe to the WSJ if they are willing to pay for that sort of thing. I'm not sure the FT makes sense for US readers on a budget. Personally I do the NYT and Economist so it's not like I don't pay for news and commentary but…
I split an FT subscription with a circle of Marxist friends. We couldn't care less about WSJ.
Re: The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
#8There are a handful of global news brands with readers that are willing/able to pay significant subscription fees for. FT is one of them but US readers mostly consider them the European WSJ and subscribe to the WSJ if they are willing to pay for that sort of thing. I'm not sure the FT makes sense for US readers on a budget. Personally I do the NYT and Economist so it's not like I don't pay for news and commentary but…
I’m about as left wing as they come. I would never pay for the WSJ because their standard reporting is so insanely biased toward American right wing politics as to rarely be of any specific value, relative to other sources. I do, however, pay for and read the Financial Times, because it’s the paper businesses rely on then to tell them the unvarnished realities of the world in which they operate, regardless of any political valences.
Re: The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's basically WSJ with a somewhat more global perspective, and Euro-centric instead of US-centric.
In my anecdotal experience, they're usually the first to scoop big Japanese business stories. (Some kind of Nikkei -> FT pipeline?) Edit- > It’s been owned by the Japanese company Nikkei, Inc. — an employee-owned company that publishes The Nikkei newspaper — since 2015. Okay that makes sense now, haha. Nikkei is employee-owned?! I need to look into this more!
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Re: The FT's chief executive on AI, "loyalist" readers, and its U.S. expansion
#10[deleted]