In 2006, the Financial Times (FT) was one of the few major British papers that reported full-year growth in circulation, ad revenue and profits -- and integration certainly had its impact on its positive figures. In July, the paper launched fully integrated staff and systems, fitting ft.com reporters into print operations, and vice versa. The best online editors were moved into the primary editorial staff and some of the now five hundred journalists at the paper worked a new early morning shift. All were responsible for both print and online stories; a uniform commissioning structure and uniform subediting were introduced.

The result was greater productivity and a lowered "cost base," said Managing Editor Dan Bogler.

The transition wasn’t all happy going, however. Fifty voluntary redundancies were offered and with 10% of staff eventually cut, journalists were pressed into three early morning shifts per month. More than half of subeditors were eliminated. (The paper later rehired approximately six of the eliminated positions and filled positions for a bigger online desk.) It was hard to convince the print staff to move to online, and three-day new media training courses were set up. Lunch time classes taught reporters how to blog, which staffers eventually began to embrace, Bogler said.

The paper implemented a new staff review process to regularly assess performance and rate journalists. But the program was soon abandoned after employee complaints and a barrage of criticism from outside blogs, other media, and FT's own management.

Among its integrated workflow changes, the Financial Times implemented the “storybuilding” approach. In the morning, a short breaking news item is posted online. Throughout the day, sources, depth and background may be added. A specialized correspondent can also take over the story if required. Eventually, a complete, full-length story flows into the following day’s paper.

For multimedia production, the FT assigned dedicated video journalists, on the premise that writers needed time to write, while video journalists specialize in shooting video interviews. Originally, production times were minimal and the subjects were usually a journalist interviewing another journalist about a story. However, the Financial Times prepared a revamp of video content on its website in late 2007 -- believing that advertising within Web media could attract companies that usually buy TV ad time.

Other integration and multimedia-related FT developments in 2007:

- In October, FT.com -- one of the few major newspaper websites to keep content behind a paywall -- began allowing 30 articles a month to be accessed for free. (Previously, most access required a £98.99 annual subscription.)

- FT was among a handful of papers that displayed digital full-color samples produced by Océ at Poing, Germany, Europe’s largest annual digital printing exhibition in March 2007, hinting that the pink-sheet might be adding even more colorful pages.

- The paper launched a new mobile service, FT Mobile News reader, providing stories on the go, archive search, and stock valuations.

- A major paper redesign featured a new typeface, bolder design, and new labeling.

- The paper increased its circulation by 2.13 percent year-on-year in September 2007 to 441,219. The FT was the only “quality” daily to increase circulation in the U.K.

- The paper appointed its first head of video, Richard Edgar, coinciding with the new emphasis on video content.

Also read here for an overview of newsroom integration at a few UK nationals, including the FT.

Source: compiled with freelance writer Chris Oakes