Rona Fairhead, CEO of the Financial Times, on the future of newspapers and digital media

2007

In this short discussion about the future of news, CEO of the Financial Times, Rona Fairhead points out that people thought radio would not survive television, and that books would not survive the advent of electronic publishing, but both of them weathered the storm. She believes that media sources will have to expand and diversify if they are to build a healthy future. Newspaper sales in the developed world are declining, and for the FT – 70-75% of whose revenue comes from paper advertising – this means expanding their online content and changing the way that this is offered to their users. Fairhead suggests that the FT’s revenue will come from tailoring content for individual users and delivering it to them in the way that is most convenient for them – whether in print or digitally.