Digital first but the news need quality
Enrico Franceschini, di ENRICO FRANCESCHINIWhere is journalism going at the time of the pandemic? Answers Roula Khalaf, editor of The Financial Times: "I hope that in ten years we will still have a print edition from Monday to Friday. I am sure that we will have it on the weekend”
LONDON
Where is journalism going, in the digital age, at the time of the pandemic? “The goal is always to produce the best quality journalism possible, but the difference is that now we must think first of the web and then of the print edition, and that today, thanks to data, we know who the readers are and what they want”, answers Roula Khalaf, editor of The Financial Times, the first woman in charge of the most important European newspaper. Born and raised in Beirut, after a Masters in international affairs at Columbia University and beginnings at Forbes magazine in New York (it was her that discovered the frauds of “The Wolf of Wall Street” described in the movie with Leonardo Di Caprio), she has always been at the FT, as North Africa and Middle East correspondent, head of the foreign desk, columnist and deputy editor, before becoming editor in chief last January. A good observation point to understand the future of the news.
How do you see the role of edi…
Where is journalism going, in the digital age, at the time of the pandemic? “The goal is always to produce the best quality journalism possible, but the difference is that now we must think first of the web and then of the print edition, and that today, thanks to data, we know who the readers are and what they want”, answers Roula Khalaf, editor of The Financial Times, the first woman in charge of the most important European newspaper. Born and raised in Beirut, after a Masters in international affairs at Columbia University and beginnings at Forbes magazine in New York (it was her that discovered the frauds of “The Wolf of Wall Street” described in the movie with Leonardo Di Caprio), she has always been at the FT, as North Africa and Middle East correspondent, head of the foreign desk, columnist and deputy editor, before becoming editor in chief last January. A good observation point to understand the future of the news.
How do you see the role of edi…
LONDON
Where is journalism going, in the digital age, at the time of the pandemic? “The goal is always to produce the best quality journalism possible, but the difference is that now we must think first of the web and then of the print edition, and that today, thanks to data, we know who the readers are and what they want”, answers Roula Khalaf, editor of The Financial Times, the first woman in charge of the most important European newspaper. Born and raised in Beirut, after a Masters in international affairs at Columbia University and beginnings at Forbes magazine in New York (it was her that discovered the frauds of “The Wolf of Wall Street” described in the movie with Leonardo Di Caprio), she has always been at the FT, as North Africa and Middle East correspondent, head of the foreign desk, columnist and deputy editor, before becoming editor in chief last January. A good observation point to understand the future of the news.
How do you see the role of editor of a great daily newspaper in the digital age?
“The fundamental role has not changed. Whatever the platform, the goal is always to produce the best quality journalism possible, find the best talent, and keep journalists motivated, excited and hungry for scoops. What has changed is the daily work, because you don’t have all day to file a story but there is a continuous cycle of news. We don’t think only of what we will publish tomorrow, but of what to give readers throughout the day. Another difference is that now, thanks to data, we know who our readers are, where they are, what they read and at what time, and this allows us to adapt to their needs. The digital age pushes us to innovate incessantly, and to constantly think of what the readers want”.
And how do you see the role of newspapers, in an age in which readers know the majority of the news even before reading them?
“Today’s readers are divided in two groups. One is completely digitalized. The other is the generation still attached to paper: people who follow the news live online, but still want something from the print edition: the explanation of the news, commentary and analyses, for which they are willing to wait until the next day. In addition, particularly at the FT, we have to distinguish between the weekdays and the weekend readers. We have readers that do not buy the print edition from Monday to Friday, but then buy it on Saturday (the FT is not published on Sunday), perhaps to read it in bed or to share the sections with the family”.
How does the integration between paper and web work at the FT?
“In our newspaper everybody shoud think of the digital first. The great majority of our readers, about 1 million subscribers, are online, so we have to give our priority to the web, from which then we produce the print edition. In the past it was the opposite: at the beginning of the digital age, we tried to translate the print edition into a digital product. Now I want to bring this change further, producing stories specifically for the digital edition. We have a group of editors who have the task of extracting what is particularly suitable from the digital edition for the printed one. But first comes the web. What is still of great importance for me, in the print edition, is the front page: because it is the expression of our brand. There is still interest for the front page. I know that some editors don’t give it attention anymore, but I still want to see it before publication. Through this process, in which digital is the priority, we must not treat the print edition as second class. The production of the two faces of the newspaper, web and print, is different, but the quality is the same and the journalist organization is one. This is the way I now speak of the FT: I don’t say, ‘the newspaper’,or ‘the site’, I say the journalistic organization”.
Mark Thompson, outgoing CEO of The New York Times, has predicted that print newspapers will disappear in ten years. Do you agree?
“I think that for sure we will still have the weekend print edition of the FT. At the beginning of the pandemic I started to wonder how long we will still have the weekeday edition, but it seems to me that we have managed the storm well. We are an industry in constant evolution. To predict if or when the print will end depends on the economic results. Of course we have an affection for print. It is the most powerful expression of our brand. I hope that in ten years we will still have a print edition from Monday to Friday. And I am 100% sure that we will have it on the weekend”.
Speaking of the pandemic, how has working from home influenced the newspaper?
“With my great surprise, we have had an easy enough transition from the very first day. The newspaper production goes ahead well even in these conditions. It requires a bigger effort from the editors, because we don’t want our journalists to feel isolated. The most important thing for me has been to keep in touch with colleagues”.
Considering the advertising decline caused by the pandemic, do you believe subscriptions are the right business model for newspapers?
“Absolutely. It is the right model. Readers are willing to pay for the news, if the quality deserves it. During the pandemic we have been succesful in attracting new subscribers. The participation has been very high”.
How important is the interaction with readers for you?
“Very important. I try to answer immediately to readers’ emails, sometimes they are surprised because I answer in 5 minutes. And I pay great attention to the comments posted at the end of the articles on our site. The FT is like a family, we have always had a close relationship with our readers, even before the digital age. It is important for readers to know that we listen to them. An innovation that I like is that sometimes we publish their comments to a certain news as a special feature. Another one is the events organized with readers at the office on news of particular interest. Then we have our annual festival, in which we meet readers and share the newspaper’s morning meeting live with them: they love being inside the newspaper, to see the newspaper’s kitchen, so to speak”.
And how valuable is your foreign coverage?
“We have more than 100 correspondents in 40-50 foreign bureaus around the world, particularly in Europe, which is extremely important for us. We have a global readership: 60% in Europe, 25 % in the US, and the rest in Asia. We are a global journalist organization: we bring the world to our readers, and they appreciate it”.
Speaking of which, you were born and raised in Beirut, you were a Middle East correspondent. Things are changing fast in that region, as the recent peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates underlines. Do you think that your native country will be able to overcome the chaos in which has precipitated?
“I think that Lebanon is a real tragedy, because it is a country with so much to offer but it is taken so down by its political class. I have rarely seen it without hope like today. Some say that things have to become worse before they become better, but I am not so sure, because it is not easy to change the Lebanese system of government. One day Lebanon should be a real democracy: the sectarian system now in place does not work. I believe young people agree with this, but the interests are too entrenched to change. Lebanon was a model for the Arab world once. Who knows when it will happen again”.
Where is journalism going, in the digital age, at the time of the pandemic? “The goal is always to produce the best quality journalism possible, but the difference is that now we must think first of the web and then of the print edition, and that today, thanks to data, we know who the readers are and what they want”, answers Roula Khalaf, editor of The Financial Times, the first woman in charge of the most important European newspaper. Born and raised in Beirut, after a Masters in international affairs at Columbia University and beginnings at Forbes magazine in New York (it was her that discovered the frauds of “The Wolf of Wall Street” described in the movie with Leonardo Di Caprio), she has always been at the FT, as North Africa and Middle East correspondent, head of the foreign desk, columnist and deputy editor, before becoming editor in chief last January. A good observation point to understand the future of the news.
How do you see the role of editor of a great daily newspaper in the digital age?
“The fundamental role has not changed. Whatever the platform, the goal is always to produce the best quality journalism possible, find the best talent, and keep journalists motivated, excited and hungry for scoops. What has changed is the daily work, because you don’t have all day to file a story but there is a continuous cycle of news. We don’t think only of what we will publish tomorrow, but of what to give readers throughout the day. Another difference is that now, thanks to data, we know who our readers are, where they are, what they read and at what time, and this allows us to adapt to their needs. The digital age pushes us to innovate incessantly, and to constantly think of what the readers want”.
And how do you see the role of newspapers, in an age in which readers know the majority of the news even before reading them?
“Today’s readers are divided in two groups. One is completely digitalized. The other is the generation still attached to paper: people who follow the news live online, but still want something from the print edition: the explanation of the news, commentary and analyses, for which they are willing to wait until the next day. In addition, particularly at the FT, we have to distinguish between the weekdays and the weekend readers. We have readers that do not buy the print edition from Monday to Friday, but then buy it on Saturday (the FT is not published on Sunday), perhaps to read it in bed or to share the sections with the family”.
How does the integration between paper and web work at the FT?
“In our newspaper everybody shoud think of the digital first. The great majority of our readers, about 1 million subscribers, are online, so we have to give our priority to the web, from which then we produce the print edition. In the past it was the opposite: at the beginning of the digital age, we tried to translate the print edition into a digital product. Now I want to bring this change further, producing stories specifically for the digital edition. We have a group of editors who have the task of extracting what is particularly suitable from the digital edition for the printed one. But first comes the web. What is still of great importance for me, in the print edition, is the front page: because it is the expression of our brand. There is still interest for the front page. I know that some editors don’t give it attention anymore, but I still want to see it before publication. Through this process, in which digital is the priority, we must not treat the print edition as second class. The production of the two faces of the newspaper, web and print, is different, but the quality is the same and the journalist organization is one. This is the way I now speak of the FT: I don’t say, ‘the newspaper’,or ‘the site’, I say the journalistic organization”.
Mark Thompson, outgoing CEO of The New York Times, has predicted that print newspapers will disappear in ten years. Do you agree?
“I think that for sure we will still have the weekend print edition of the FT. At the beginning of the pandemic I started to wonder how long we will still have the weekeday edition, but it seems to me that we have managed the storm well. We are an industry in constant evolution. To predict if or when the print will end depends on the economic results. Of course we have an affection for print. It is the most powerful expression of our brand. I hope that in ten years we will still have a print edition from Monday to Friday. And I am 100% sure that we will have it on the weekend”.
Speaking of the pandemic, how has working from home influenced the newspaper?
“With my great surprise, we have had an easy enough transition from the very first day. The newspaper production goes ahead well even in these conditions. It requires a bigger effort from the editors, because we don’t want our journalists to feel isolated. The most important thing for me has been to keep in touch with colleagues”.
Considering the advertising decline caused by the pandemic, do you believe subscriptions are the right business model for newspapers?
“Absolutely. It is the right model. Readers are willing to pay for the news, if the quality deserves it. During the pandemic we have been succesful in attracting new subscribers. The participation has been very high”.
How important is the interaction with readers for you?
“Very important. I try to answer immediately to readers’ emails, sometimes they are surprised because I answer in 5 minutes. And I pay great attention to the comments posted at the end of the articles on our site. The FT is like a family, we have always had a close relationship with our readers, even before the digital age. It is important for readers to know that we listen to them. An innovation that I like is that sometimes we publish their comments to a certain news as a special feature. Another one is the events organized with readers at the office on news of particular interest. Then we have our annual festival, in which we meet readers and share the newspaper’s morning meeting live with them: they love being inside the newspaper, to see the newspaper’s kitchen, so to speak”.
And how valuable is your foreign coverage?
“We have more than 100 correspondents in 40-50 foreign bureaus around the world, particularly in Europe, which is extremely important for us. We have a global readership: 60% in Europe, 25 % in the US, and the rest in Asia. We are a global journalist organization: we bring the world to our readers, and they appreciate it”.
Speaking of which, you were born and raised in Beirut, you were a Middle East correspondent. Things are changing fast in that region, as the recent peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates underlines. Do you think that your native country will be able to overcome the chaos in which has precipitated?
“I think that Lebanon is a real tragedy, because it is a country with so much to offer but it is taken so down by its political class. I have rarely seen it without hope like today. Some say that things have to become worse before they become better, but I am not so sure, because it is not easy to change the Lebanese system of government. One day Lebanon should be a real democracy: the sectarian system now in place does not work. I believe young people agree with this, but the interests are too entrenched to change. Lebanon was a model for the Arab world once. Who knows when it will happen again”.