The Financial Times announced that it is replacing veteran financial journalist John Authers as head of the paper’s flagship investment column, the Lex, effective immediately.
The announcement did not explain why Authers, 45, a globally respected investment writer and columnist, is being reassigned after such a brief tenure. He became the global editor of Lex on April 1, 2010 – and relocated to London to perform the job from there on September 1, 2010.
The answer, NewsBios.com has learned, is that Mr. Authers has been wrestling with a nagging health issue almost from the onset of his Lex tenure. Although his ailment is not stress-related, his physicians have recommended he scale back his professional demands in light of his persistent health problems.
In an exclusive phone interview from London, Authers offered a strong endorsement of his replacement, Stuart Kirk, who has already assumed responsibility for the Lex. Kirk, currently based in New York, will relocate to London later this year.
“He is brilliant,” Authers said of Kirk, who until now was responsible for the U.S.-based Lex team and also served as Authers’s deputy. Authers said that Kirk is likely to continue largely in the same direction that he had, adding that Kirk is an “exciting guy to talk to” and has “very great enthusiasm for the column.”
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Most of the changes that Authers, himself, made to the agenda-setting Lex during his period of oversight involved adjustments to its online editions and electronic distribution, including having Lex contributors participate in streaming online video commentaries for FT.com.
Two current Lex staff members, Rob Armstrong in New York and Jennifer Hughes in Hong Kong, were recruited to the column by Authers.
Compared with Kirk, Authers has been a much higher profile member of the FT staff, predating his tenure at the head of Lex. Authers joined the paper in 1990, and previously served as investment editor, U.S. markets editor, and Mexico bureau chief, among other assignments.
Authers’ weekly Long View column, which he continues to pen, features commentary and insights on global markets and investments. With Kirk’s ascension to the Lex lead, Mr. Authers has assumed the title, Senior Investment Columnist.
Authers, an Oxford University graduate, is a semi-professional singer, whose voice has appeared on more than a dozen CDs. He is married to Sara Silver, 45, a fellow financial journalist who has reported for The Wall Street Journal.
Full, in-depth dossiers on Authers, Kirk and Silver are available for purchase from NewsBios.com, which maintains and updates detailed reports on more than 7,000 influential global journalists. For details, phone: 1-866-NEWS-070, ext. 2. (866-639-7070).
This column will feature a fuller profile of Kirk in the near future. [Follow this column on Twitter @newsbios]
Lex, a staple in the Financial Times since 1945 and the originator of timely, financial newspaper commentary columns, competes closely with a growing number of print and online rivals, including the Heard on the Street column in The Wall Street Journal; DealBook and other blogs on NYTimes.com; Breakingviews, a commentary service now owned by Reuters; and Bloomberg News.
The current editor of the Heard on the Street, Thorold Barker, and Breakingviews co-founder, Hugo Dixon, previously worked as editors for the Financial Times and Lex.
Recent Lex editors have included Jo Johnson, now a conservative member of Parliament for Orpington; and Tracy Corrigan, now editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe.
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Bio Scoops:
- Laurie Hays, executive editor for company news at Bloomberg News, and husband, author and journalist Fen Montaigne, sold their Pelham, New York home for $1.26 million, according to public records.
The 3,366-foot home, built in 1903, features 5 bedrooms and 3.5 baths.
Public records indicate that Hays and Montaigne purchased the home in 2000 for $835,000, representing a 3.8% annual appreciation.
The couple has two college-age daughters.
- Nicholas Ingrassia, son of The New York Times business editor, Lawrence“Larry” Ingrassia, is married to the daughter of Colin Myler, former editor of London’s News of the Worldnewspaper. The paper was shut down earlier this year as part of the massive phone hacking scandal that has embroiled Rupert Murdochand his British newspaper group.
Nick does not work in journalism, although his sister, Lisa, worked previously as a staff writer for Peoplemagazine. She is now a senior editor for Wonderwall.com and Powerwall.com.
- Airline writer David Brinkerhoffof The Associated Press, 41, is married to Ronda Kaysen, a freelance journalist whose articles appear occasionally in The New York Times. They have two children.
Kaysen was cited in an August 2007 AP feature discussing how she and Binkerhoff consulted professional baby namers in selecting Theo Jorah, the name of their first child.
- Fox News anchor and reporter, Kelly Writer, 56, is a gospel singer and inspirational speaker when he’s not being a journalist.
Social Networking Insights:
- Michelle Fay Cortez@FayCortez, 45, chief medical reporter for Bloomberg News, follows 90 other Twitter account holders. These include public relations executives: @RayKerins; @scooperpr; @brianreid; @MediaMinder; @KristaEccleston; @edwardbarrera; @DanBudwick; and @MarkScottPR.
- The Wall Street Journal’s new Pittsburgh-based reporter, John W. Miller, 34, invited his Facebook friends to join him for a going away party held October 22 at Le Chat-Pitre, in Brussels, Belgium.
Wrote Mr. Miller:
“For the second time in my life, I am leaving Brussels, this time for Pittsburgh. Come say goodbye, drink some Trappist beers and sing some songs with me and other Millers. Everybody I know in Belgium (and beyond) -- close friends, facebook friends, family, sources, ballplayers -- is welcome! Bring an instrument if ya got it. We gonna rock it to the morning. And thank you to Chat-Pitre owner Robert for opening the bar specially for this party. Ain't no sin to be glad you're alive.”
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Keep A Sharp Eye on These Under 30s:
- Beina XU, 26, will soon be marking three years as a reporter at Dow Jones’s LBO Wire
- Joe Palazzolo, 29, is lead writer of the Law Blog on WSJ.com
Media Birthdays This Week*:
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Monday, 11/14:
§ Peter Lattman, 41, reporter for The New York Times and DealBook, @peterlattman
§ Ruth Mantell, 34, Wall Street Journaland MarketWatch reporter, @ruthmantell
§ Scott Wenger, 48, editorial director, SourceMedia
Tuesday, 11/15:
§ Martin Howell, 51, Top News editor at Reuters @ReutersMartinH
§ Davan Maharaj, 49, managing editor and one-time business editor, Los Angeles Times @DavenMaharaj
§ Stephen“Steve” Baker, 56, author and former senior writer, BusinessWeek @stevebaker
§ Ken Otterbourg, 50, freelancer writer and former managing editor of the Winston-Salem Journal
§ Patrick Thibodeau, 57, a senior editor at Computerworld @DCGov
§ Ian McDonald, 40, former mutual funds and insurance reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Wednesday, 11/16:
§ Alan Murray, 57, executive editor of WSJ.comand deputy managing editor, The Wall Street Journal @alansmurray
§ Hannah Elliott, 30, staff writer and lifestyle report, Forbes @hannahelliott
§ Eric Pfanner, 43, business correspondent and advertising columnist, International Herald Tribune
§ Rita Rubin, 55, health and medical reporter contributor, USA Todayand MSNBC @ritarubin
§ Loch Adamson, 44, London bureau chief at Institutional Investorand 2011 Nieman Fellow
§ Liza Weisstuch, 35, freelance writer @livingtheproof
Thursday, 11/17:
§ Andrew Hampp, 28, reporter at Billboard @ahampp
§ John Carey, 57, former health and technology correspondent, BusinessWeek
§ Dan Fost, 49, author and former reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle @sanfrandan
§ Katherine Eban, 45, Brooklyn-based freelance investigative reporter @KathEban
§ Tim Knauss, 56, business reporter, Syracuse Post Standard
§ Amanda Janis, 32, senior editor, Private Equity International
§ Jennifer S. Forsyth, 45, Dallas bureau chief, The Wall Street Journal
Friday, 11/18:
§ Frances McMorris, 53, editor-in-chief, On Wall Street @FrancesMcMorris
§ Liz Alderman, 42, business editor, International Herald Tribune
§ Jenny Wiggins, 41, former consumer industries reporter, Financial Times
§ Emily Lambert, 35, author and reporter, Forbes @lambertem
§ Danielle Randall-Saba, 35, freelance writer @DRandallSaba
Saturday, 11/19:
§ Stefanie Ilgenfritz, 45, science and health bureau chief, The Wall Street Journal @stefaniei
§ Dave Segal, 56, business reporter, Honolulu Star-Advertiser
§ Dana Hedgpeth, 37, transportation reporter (METRO), The Washington Post @postmetrogirl
§ Jeff Platsky, 57, digital desk editor, Press & Sun-Bulletin(Binghamton, NY) @PSBJeff
Sunday, 11/20:
§ Michael W. Miller, 49, senior deputy managing editor, The Wall Street Journal
§ Jon Newberry, 59, staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier
§ Kasey Wehrum, 35, senior writer, Inc. Magazine
§ Julie M. Makinen, 40, movie editor, Los Angeles Times @JulieMakLAT
§ Antonio Regalado, 42, business editor, Technology Review @AntonioRegalado
Are you a working journalist or blogger? Email your birth date to us at: dean@newsbios.com.
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* Based on public records. Not independently verified.
Camera Shy:
We can’t seem to locate a photo or streaming video anywhere of these influential journalists. If you spot one, please alert us!
§ Alex Martin, 52, deputy managing editor and national editor, The Wall Street Journal
§ Chris Burritt, 53, who covers large chain stores and other retailers for Bloomberg News
Full, in-depth dossiers on many of the journalists mentioned in this column are available for purchase from NewsBios.com, which maintains and updates detailed reports on more than 7,000 influential global journalists. For details, phone: 1-866-NEWS-070, ext. 2. (866-639-7070).
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