Wall Street Woe Is Good News for the FT

The Financial Times is seeing some positive effects of all the doom and gloom of the current financial crisis. The paper's U.S. newsstand sales shot up 30 percent in September (from August) and online page views doubled their typical amounts to 25 million in one week, C.E.O. John Ridding told Reuters. During the week of September 22, page views increased 300 percent and unique visitors were up 250 percent from last year.

Both the U.K-based paper and its main competitor, The Wall Street Journal, still offer subscription services with minimal access to free content, but this doesn't seem to be deterring readers.

"What [the crisis] is doing for our readership and audience is pretty remarkable. I think it really underlines this idea that at a time of turmoil, people really do need trusted guides, and are prepared to pay," Ridding said.

But while readership may boom temporarily for some papers, the future still looks pretty grim. Online ad growth is slowing, and Newsosaur Alan Mutter predicts both online and print ad revenue will be hit much worse than previously expected due to the credit crunch with an estimated $7.5 billion decline in 2008.

FT CEO spots green in the red [Reuters]

By Chris Snyder for Wired.com

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