A History of the Financial Times

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The Financial Times newspaper is part of The Financial Times Group, and is overseen by the media organisation Nikkei Inc. It is printed Monday-Saturday in broadsheet format and as of December 2008, it has an average worldwide daily circulation of 435,319. The newspaper is printed at London and Leeds in the UK, plus a further 22 locations throughout the world. It is available in 140 countries, with correspondents in 55 of those and two thirds of its circulation is outside the UK. The Financial Times is firmly grounded as one of the world’s leading sources of business information, particularly within European financial information, and is second only to the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper had a great impact on financial policies on the government, bringing together the latest financial information and opinions. To read an old copy of the newspaper from the date of your choice, search our Financial Times archive.

financial times building


History of the Financial Times

Politically, the Financial Times takes a centrist stance- it advocates free markets and favours globalisation. The motto of the Financial Times is “Without fear and without favour”. However, the Financial Times issued a reserved endorsement of the Conservative Party on 4th May 2010 after supporting the Labour Party at the previous four General Elections. Typically, the Financial Times aligns itself with liberal conservatism and economic liberalism.

The forerunner of the Financial Times was the London Financial Guide, which was founded on 9 January 1888. It was re-launched as The Financial Times on 13th February 1888 – “The friend of the Honest Financier and the Respectable Broker”.

The first pink issue of the Financial Times was printed on 2nd January 1893, distinguishing the Financial Times from its rival the Financial News. The Financial News pre-dated the Financial Times by 4 years, having been founded on 23rd January 1884. The Financial Times of 4th January 1993 was famously printed in white to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first pink issue. The newspaper is typically published in two sections, the first focusing on international and national news, with the second covering company and market news.

In 1919, the Financial Times was acquired by the newspaper publishers William and Gomer Berry (later Viscount Camrose and Viscount Kemsley). The Berry brothers split their newspaper holdings in 1937 – William Berry (1st Viscount Camrose) retained the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph, whilst Gomer Berry (1st Viscount Kemsley) formed the Kemsley newspaper group including The Sunday Times, the Sunday Graphic and Daily Sketch.

The Financial Times was bought by Brendan Bracken, Chairman of the Financial News in 1945. Brendan Bracken subsequently merged the two newspapers on 1st October 1945. As the Financial Times had traditionally sold a higher number of copies, the merged newspaper kept the Financial Times name and format. Subsequent editions would continue to be printed on pink paper.

The Pearson Group acquired Financial Times Limited in 1957, which included the 50% share in The Economist magazine the Financial Times had inherited from the Financial News. The Pearson Group later went on to purchase the publisher Longman in 1968 (now published under Pearson Education) and the Penguin Group in 1971.

The influence of the Financial Times in government has been huge, particularly since one of their education correspondents, Andrew Adonis, became an adviser to the former prime minister Tony Blair. He later gained a job as an education minister and a seat in the House of Lords following the election of 2005. Nikkei Inc., a media organisation focusing on newspaper publishing, purchased the Financial Times Group from Pearson in 2015. They intend to “advance its global and digital growth strategy.” (Nikkei, Inc.)

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Other Versions of the Financial Times

The first foreign copies of Financial Times were printed in Frankfurt, with the launch of the European edition of the newspaper on 1st January 1979. The US edition was launched in 1997, and by 1998, the Financial Times had begun to sell more copies abroad than in the UK. The newspaper was the first based in the UK to sell more copies abroad than in the country. An Asia-Pacific edition of the newspaper was introduced in 2003, as the publication continued to expand. The Financial Times has firmly been established as a worldwide newspaper, since it now prints in 23 different locations. The newspaper has also created a network of correspondents who report from abroad, which helps the paper commit to its favourable views on globalisation.

The How to Spend it magazine was first supplied with the Financial Times newspaper as a quarterly magazine on Saturday 19th November 1994. It is now printed monthly on the first Saturday of each month. Occasionally, bonus issues are published on a Friday. In addition, special themed issues of the How to Spend it magazine occasionally appear on a Saturday – A Passion for Fashion, Superior Interiors, Travel Unravelled and the annual Christmas Unwrapped. A weekly magazine has also been supplied with the newspaper every Saturday since the launch of the Financial Times Magazine on 26th April 2003.

Financial Times Limited also has a specialist unit, FT Business, which publishes the Investors Chronicle, The Banker, Money Management and Financial Adviser magazines. However, these magazines are sold separately and are not part of the Financial Times newspaper.

The current main regular weekday supplement in the Financial Times newspaper is the Companies & Markets broadsheet newspaper supplement, which appears every Monday to Friday. In addition, each Monday the FTfm tabloid newspaper section provides a weekly review of the fund management industry. The Appointments broadsheet newspaper section appears each Thursday. Special Reports are often provided with the newspaper as well.

The Saturday edition of the newspaper was refreshed on 26th April 2008 with the Saturday Companies & Markets section merged into the main newspaper, whilst the weekly Life & Arts, House & Home and Money newspaper sections were redesigned. The weekly Financial Times magazine was re-named the FT Weekend Magazine. However, the monthly How to Spend it magazine and its special issues continue to appear as before.

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frequently asked questions

Newspaper Books

What are newspaper books?

Each of our Newspaper Books are created with copies of authentic newspapers from specific dates or categories. Each book allows you to choose from various cover colours and designs, and to make it truly special by personalising it with a name and dedication, printed right in the book.

With Newspaper Date books you choose a specific date, for example a birthdate, and we'll create a book containing the front page for the specified date for every subsequent year since. For example, a date of July 13th, 1978, would contain the front page for July 13th for each year forward.

Our History books offer a glimpse into the past, bringing together headlines and articles relating to some of history's most fascinating or iconic events. Choose from Military History, British Royal History, and World Events; each book revisits key events, all through the eyes of the reporters who were there.

If Sports History is more your interest, you can revisit key matches, events, tournaments and races from decades past. Select your favourite team from Football, Hockey, Rugby, and more, and relive every glorious moment through the magic of print.

And, Pop Culture fans won't be left out - get an all access pass and revisit events in Music, Film, & TV. Relive the history of Classic Rock, Star Wars, Taylor Swift, and more, all through newspaper headlines.

Note that each of our Newspaper Books contain true copies of real newspaper content. We don't edit, change, or censor what was originally included in each paper. This means that each book will reflect the true history as it was printed, good or bad.

Personalising Newspaper Books
How does personalisation work?

As you create your Newspaper book, you'll be prompted to personalise it in a few different ways.

First, you'll be able to choose from a selection of cover colours, as well as a cover design. Simply click the options available, and you'll see the image update to match your selection, helping you to choose your favourite.

In addition to the look of your cover, you're also able to add the recipient's name, which will be printed right on the front cover. You can see how this looks in the example images on our website, it appears right next to the words "Presented To"

And finally, a special dedication is printed right inside the book. You can opt to use or add to our pre-written sentiment, or write your very own from scratch.



Does it have to be personalised?

At this time, there isn't any way to create one of our newspaper books without a First Name. It's a request we've shared with our product team, but at the moment don't know when this option might be available.

Please note that anything that is entered into the recipient's name box will print exactly as it's entered. This means that writing 'no personalisation' for example, will result in your book printing with that showing on the cover.

If you prefer not to use a first name, we suggest using a phrase related to your chosen book. For example for writing "A big fan", or using nickname or relationship, such as "My Partner", or simply "You" or "Me"

Original Newspapers
What are Original Newspapers?

Our Original Newspapers are just that - authentic, original papers that were once hot off the press and sold at actual newsstands in the UK and US. Each paper is stored in our archive of over 3 million newspapers, dating back to the early 1900's and featuring 100s of editions.


What can I expect with my paper?

When you purchase one of our original newspapers, our team of archivists will carefully review your paper page by page. Being careful to examine and press each paper flat, they'll also repair any flaws and reinforce the paper as necessary with a special archival repair tape. This work ensures the paper you receive will be strong enough to enjoy for years to come.

Note that as these are real newspapers and not replicas, you'll be holding a piece of treasured history in your hands, one that others may have enjoyed throughout the decades before you. While our team takes care to ensure that each paper is suitable for gifting, due to the nature of newspapers and time itself, there may be minor flaws or imperfections, or signs of age.


I can't find what I'm looking for, do you have more in stock?

To see what options are available, visit our Original Newspapers Page and enter in your desired date. Upon clicking 'search' you'll see any editions available to order, clicking 'select' will allow you to view the price for the paper you've selected, as well as various gift box options available. Newspapers are priced based on age, rarity, and special historic events, and can vary between editions.

Please note that every newspaper within our archive is catalogued and listed. If no results appear or the edition you were hoping to see is not listed, and the date you've entered is more than 2 weeks ago, we unfortunately do not have any items in stock, and are not likely to receive more at a future time.

Gifting
Can I send a gift directly to the recipient

Yes indeed! Both our Newspaper Books and Our Original Newspapers make incredible gifts for the special people in your life.

While placing your order you'll have the option to add a special gift box, which your item will be carefully placed inside prior to packaging and shipping.


For our Newspaper Books, you can also include a special dedication which will be printed directly in the book you've created - free of charge.


During checkout, you'll be able to enter in the recipient's shipping address, separately from your billing one. And, we never include any pricing or invoices within the parcels themselves, so the recipient won't see those details at all.


Note that at this time we're unable to include any gift notes or separate gift messages within the orders.

Placing an Order

Add content here...What happens when I place an order?

Once your order has been placed, the details are immediately sent to our workshops for processing.

If you've ordered an Original Newspaper, our team of Archivists in our warehouse located in Western Scotland will carefully pick, examine, prepare, and package your order.


If you've ordered a Newspaper Book, details for your customised book will be sent directly to our Printhouse located in the United Kingdom, where an automated printing process will print, trim, bind, and cure you book before it is carefully packaging it for shipping.

Note that as our orders are processed very soon after they're received, we are not able to make any changes or amendments, or cancel any orders.

Returns, Cancellation, and Edit Policies

Due to the automated nature of our order processing, we're unable to make changes or amendments to an order once it's been completed, nor are we able to cancel orders once after they've been placed.

For information about our Returns Policy, please visit this link >> HERE