This is great....

Particularly like the "Pilate: We Found Him Like That" line....



Unfortunate name for a town. Nightline tonight.

Quite a day, and on the subject of unexpected shake-ups...

I had dinner in New York on Friday night with my friend Cate and her husband. She was telling me how things at her shop were a little uncertain and it wasn't clear what way things were going to play out in the next few months.

It didn't take that long.

Just back from this and, wouldn't you know it, big things are afoot this morning....

The whole thing is unprecedented for us - even though it happens at other papers - and people were desperately trying to figure out what it all means.

The first we heard was an innocent-enough note that morning conference would be delayed by 15 mins. Then we got this email from the CEO:

Dear everyone at the FT
Andrew Gowers has been at the editorial helm of the Financial Times during the toughest years on record for business newspapers. In that time, he's steered the paper with courage, vigour and intelligence and advanced its reputation as the world's business newspaper.
Today we're announcing that Andrew is stepping down and that Lionel Barber will be the new editor of the FT. Lionel takes little introduction. He's been at the FT for 20 years and in that time been news editor, editor of the European edition, and editor of the US edition. He is an outstanding journalist and his leadership and vision for the FT will build on Andrew's work and take the paper forward. Lionel will be in London for most of the time over the next few weeks, and I know he intends to do a lot of listening before he sets out his plans later in the year.
Andrew has my heartfelt thanks for everything he has achieved at the FT in his more than 20-year career. He leaves a strong legacy - an integrated print and online operation; a broader international reach and an unrivalled reputation for business news and analysis.
Today is Lionel's first day in the job, and I hope you'll all join me in congratulating and supporting him as he takes the wheel.
Marjorie

The new man, who was briefly my boss in New York three years ago, addressed the troops in the newsroom this afternoon.

He spoke for about 10 mins to polite applause, but didn't take questions. "Next time", he said. "My job now is to listen".

There was absolutely no explanation on the circumstances surrounding Andrew's departure, while any tribute to the guy was limited to just saying what a good job he had done in a difficult period.

Lionel made a big point of the continued success of the international edition (as the domestic circulation has stalled, in common with other papers) and how central ft.com is to the brand going forward. It was all intended to be reassuring, although he did say that when he gets into the job proper later this month there will "inevitably" be changes.

The weird, post-modern thing was that on the TV screen behind him, Sky News were splashing on the arrest of Rebekah Wade, the editor of The Sun and Fleet Street's youngest-ever editor...