According to the FT: Tailored for the active news consumer, fastFT delivers up-to-the-minute reporting and commentary in short, sharp and informed dispatches – giving FT readers the edge they expect and the agenda-setting analysis they rely on. It expands and deepens the FT’s existing content offerings – from breaking and investigative news, opinion and analysis to blogs, interactive journalism and videos – by adding a live and dynamic layer of news and insight.
Staffed by a dedicated team of journalists around the world, it will be updated 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday, and supplemented with exclusive content from the FT’s renowned network of journalists and guest contributors.
Key features of fastFT include:
• Global coverage around-the-clock during the business week
• Sharp, pithy posts on the most important, market-moving news of the day
• A rolling format with the most recent update at the top for easy reading, accessed via a panel on the FT.com homepage
• Keyword searches and user commenting
• Simple, sleek design that instantly adapts to different platforms and devices
• Available on desktop at FT.com, smartphones and tablets via the FT Web App (app.ft.com) or the browser
Megan Murphy, chief correspondent for fastFT, commented: “In an increasingly crowded news marketplace, fastFT will help FT readers sift out the noise, giving them the news they need, when they need it most. It goes beyond the headlines, providing context and commentary in quick, authoritative reports."
Lionel Barber (pictured), editor of the Financial Times, said: “The FT has long been committed to the pursuit of quality, global journalism and fastFT builds on this important heritage and our trove of award-winning, agenda-setting news and commentary, while also providing something fresh and different for our growing audience of digital readers. The FT has evolved into a truly multichannel news organisation, now with more subscribers coming to us through digital and mobile channels than print, and with a broad international footprint. fastFT will keep our readers abreast of what they need to know, in real-time and wherever they are in the world.”
Andrew Betts, co-founder of FT Labs which led the product development, said: "The ever increasing diversity in the way that our readers want to consume our content has created a demand for short, highly portable content that can be rapidly published in virtually any media channel or platform in its full original form. fastFT is the visible tip of a new real-time, platform agnostic publishing system that represents a step forward in creating an environment optimised for all news consumers, whichever device they choose to read us on, and wherever they happen to be."
