Wikipedia

Lionel Barber

Lionel Barber (born 18 January 1955)[1] is an English journalist. He was editor of the Financial Times (FT) from 2005 to 2020. Barber worked at The Scotsman and The Sunday Times before working at the FT from the mid-1980s.

Lionel Barber
At the Boldness in Business Awards in London, 2013
Born (1955-01-18) 18 January 1955 (age 69)
NationalityBritish
EducationDulwich College
Alma materSt Edmund Hall, Oxford
OccupationJournalist
TitleEditor of the Financial Times (2005–2020)
SpouseVictoria Greenwood
Children2

Barber was a well-regarded editor of the FT. He was credited with raising its journalistic standards, transforming it into a global brand, navigating its transition into the digital era, growing readership, and managing its takeover by Nikkei.[2]

Early life and career

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Barber was born on 18 January 1955 to a journalist father.[3] He was educated at Dulwich College, an independent school for boys in Dulwich in South London, and at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, graduating in 1978 with an upper second[4] joint honours degree in German and modern history. He worked for a company in Germany as an interpreter, before being offered a job on the Thomson regional training scheme.[5]

Barber began his career in journalism in 1978 as a reporter for The Scotsman. In 1981, after being named Young Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards, he became a business correspondent at The Sunday Times,[6] having been interviewed by its editor Frank Giles.

By 1982 he was the Enterprising Britain correspondent (a title used to denote the position that became known as industrial correspondent).[4] The co-writer of several books, his works include a history of Reuters news agency (The Price of Truth, 1985) and the Westland affair (Not with Honour, 1986).

At the Financial Times

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Barber joined the Financial Times in 1985.[5] His positions at the paper included Washington correspondent and US editor (1986–1992), Brussels bureau chief (1992–1998), and news editor (1998–2000). He was formerly the editor of the FT Continental European edition (2000–2002), during which he briefed US President George W. Bush ahead of his first trip to Europe.

In November 2005, he was appointed editor of the Financial Times,[7] having believed the newspaper was in need of a different editor.[4] In his capacity as editor, Barber interviewed figures including Barack Obama, Wen Jiabao, Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Angela Merkel, David Cameron and Manmohan Singh.[8]

 
Barber and the Financial Times' Henry Foy interviewing Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2019

In July 2012, Barber was accused of intimidating and threatening a member of staff at the Financial Times. Steve Lodge, who worked as a personal finance writer at the newspaper, was brought before a disciplinary panel following an incident in which the Financial Times claimed demonstrated he "had a problem working for women". Barber was accused of "losing his temper and raising his voice" in a manner that breached the newspaper's procedures.[9]

In October 2018, he said it was "time for a revolution" at the newspaper after sharing a reader's letter that criticised it for a "lack of diversity" among its columnists.[10] Barber stepped down from the role on 17 January 2020 after 14 years as editor, and was succeeded by Roula Khalaf.[11] Barber's 14 year tenure made him the second longest-serving editor in the FT's history, after Sir Gordon Newton.[4]

In 2019, Barber received pay and pension benefits worth £1.92 million, according to accounts published at Companies House.[12] This led to a halt in pay negotiations.

After the Financial Times

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In 2020, Barber began presenting What Next?, an interview podcast for LBC.[13]

Barber published a memoir covering his editorship of the FT in 2020, entitled The Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times.[14][15]

In 2021, Barber joined a consortium of 9 other investors, that included former BBC Director-General and The New York Times Company chief executive Mark Thompson, to purchase The New European newspaper for an undisclosed sum.[16]

Awards and recognition

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Barber has received a number of awards and distinctions for his journalistic work.[17]

Personal life

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Barber's wife, Victoria Greenwood, is a criminologist.[21] Barber has a daughter and a son, born in Washington, D.C. in 1988 and 1990.[22] As of 2008, he lives in London.[3] He is fluent in French and German.[3]

Bibliography

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  • Ralph Lawrenson, John; Barber, Lionel (1985). The Price of Truth: The Story of the Reuters £££ Millions. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 9780722154878.
  • Barber, Lionel (1998). Britain and the New European Agenda. Centre for European Reform. ISBN 9781901229073.
  • Bilefsky, Dan; Hall, Ben; Barber, Lionel, eds. (1998). The Birth of the Euro: The Financial Times's Guide to EMU. Penguin. ISBN 0140280022.
  • Barber, Lionel, ed. (2013). Lunch with the FT: 52 Classic Interviews. Penguin. ISBN 9781591846499.
  • Barber, Lionel, ed. (2019). Lunch with the FT: A Second Helping. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780241400715.
  • Appiah, Kwame Anthony & Lionel Barber (Winter 2019). "The unity in disunity : looking at the world of globalization". Carnegie Conversation. Carnegie Reporter. 11 (1). Moderated by Scott Malcomson: 8–15.
  • Barber, Lionel (2020). The Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times. WH Allen. ISBN 9780753558188.

References

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  1. ^ Who's Who
  2. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (31 October 2020). "The Powerful and the Damned by Lionel Barber review – cosying up to power?". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Morris, Sophie (7 January 2008). "Lionel Barber: My Life in Media". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d James O'Brien (12 November 2020). "Lionel Barber". globalplayer.com (Podcast). Full Disclosure with James O'Brien. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b Paul Blanchard (19 October 2017). "Lionel Barber - Former Editor, Financial Times". mediamasters.fm (Podcast). Media Masters. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Lionel Barber" (PDF). Financial Times. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2009.
  7. ^ "New editor at the FINANCIAL TIMES" (PDF). Press Business (1). February 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Lionel Barber | Speaking Fee & Booking Agent – Chartwell". Expert Keynote and Motivational Speakers | Chartwell Speakers. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  9. ^ Rushton, Katherine (24 July 2012). "FT editor Lionel Barber 'threatened' sacked staff member, court hears". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  10. ^ Mayhew, Freddy (16 October 2018). "'Time for a revolution' says FT editor Lionel Barber as he publishes letter criticising 'lack of diversity' among paper's columnists". Press Gazette. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  11. ^ Mayhew, Freddy. "Lionel Barber says FT staff are 'family' in speech on last day as editor". Press Gazette. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  12. ^ Ponsford, Dominic (18 December 2020). "FT journalists halt pay talks after news former editor Lionel Barber was paid £1.92m in 2019". Press Gazette. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Introducing 'What Next?' with Lionel Barber". uk-podcasts.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  14. ^ Emmott, Bill (5 November 2020). "Lionel Barber's chronicle of his time as FT editor". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  15. ^ O’Toole, Fintan (31 October 2020). "The Powerful and the Damned by Lionel Barber review – cosying up to power?". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  16. ^ Barker, Alex (1 February 2021). "Former FT editor and BBC chief among investors to buy The New European". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Lionel Barber – Speakers for Schools". Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Lionel Barber | Financial Times". www.ft.com.
  19. ^ Sweney, Mark (8 August 2016). "FT editor to be honoured by France for 'positive role' in EU debate". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  20. ^ Daillak, Jonathan (6 October 2020). "2020 Gerald Loeb Award Finalists, Career Achievement Honorees and Date of Virtual Awards Event Announced by UCLA Anderson". PR Newswire (Press release). UCLA Anderson School of Management. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  21. ^ "This British Invader Is Planning On an Extended Stateside Stay". The New York Sun. 2 May 2005. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  22. ^ A’Lee Frost, Amber (22 July 2019). "Lionel Barber on his tenure as Financial Times editor, why his paper appeals to millennials, and the correct journalistic response to Trump and Brexit". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
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