January 10, 2011

FT launches paid-for emerging markets site

The Financial Times has today launched FT Tilt – an online news and analysis service focused exclusively on the emerging world economies.

The new site features Populi – a community area where members share commentary or research on markets topics – and Pro, for news, analysis and insight.

The new service is being offered on the same tiered access basis on which the main FT.com website runs.

Complimentary membership allows readers access to community pages and to use filtering and notification tools, whereas full paid-for ‘Pro’ access will allow access to these areas and news and analysis content.

Tilt is being run with an editorial staff of ten at bureaus in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, South and East Asia, Russia and Eastern Europe.

Eight of the staff are new hires. Stacy Marie-Ishmael – who will act as Tilt editor – and Paul Murphy – who will be editor-in-chief – have moved across from FT’s Alphaville blog.

Murphy said: ‘Recent years have seen economic power shift – or tilt – south and east.

‘This trend is accelerating rather than diminishing and we see strong demand from our core professional readers for increasingly granular news and insight in markets beyond the developed G3 economies.

‘The service will connect the dots across the emerging world to present a holistic view of this vibrant and increasingly central story.

‘By drilling down into the important yet underreported world of emerging markets, gathering a professional community of members contributing to a high-level and dynamic conversation, and measuring collective sentiment of the news, FT Tilt is taking an unprecedented step in the evolution of online journalism to better serve its readers with interests and stakes in even the most opaque corners of the world.”