The Financial Times’ news team was unable to update its website for several hours this morning after thieves stole computer equipment from Cable & Wireless’ data centre at Watford.
The site’s Alphaville blogged ran live updates on the situation and published stories while the main site was out of action.
FT.com has started embedding video footage in its news story pages (example here).
Prior to today’s launch of the smaller embedded player users were directed to a specific page for video content.
FT.com follows the BBC in embedding video in its news pieces and more widely across the site.It stared in March and soon after claimed the move had led to a doubling of views.
Ien Cheng’s successor Rob Grimshaw discusses subscription models and the possibility of even more niche, paid-for content on the site.
More blogs, embedded video and a pink page backgrounds are also in the pipeline.
The Financial Times (FT) has launched the first in a series of online financial news services for Europe.
Ignites Europe – aimed at workers in the European cross-border fund industry – has been launched by online news organisation Money-Media, which was bought by the FT in January.
The service is an email newsletter featuring 10-12 stories and mixing both original and aggregated content.
The paid-for newsletter expands the title outside of the USA, where it has been published for 10 years.
The New York Times website won two awards for best news and newspaper at last night’s Webby awards.
BBC News also picked up an accolade for news, while its world service website won an award for radio.
The Financial Times blog Alphaville was also named best business blog.
Winners at the Webbys were asked to make a five-word acceptance speech – the full list of which can be read on the awards website.
Here’s a selection:
“No longer a newspaper site.” (NYTimes.com)
“Me, me, me, me, me!!!” (comedian Stephen Colbert named person of the year)
“Not bad for an aethiest [sic].” (Speaking of Faith, winner in the religion and spirituality category)
The Financial Times and the BBC have reason to celebrate after they both won Webby Awards – considered by many as the Oscars of online publishing.
With nominations in over 70 categories FT.com’s Alphaville blog and the BBC News site were amongst a crowded field of winners as they picked up gongs earlier this week.
The Webbys are selected by a group made up of web, business and celebrity figures selected by the awarding body, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, with the people’s voice awards voted on by web-using members of the public.
Alphaville won the best business blog category, also picking up the people’s voice award in that category.
BBC News was the people’s voice winner in the news category (it also won the main award in the radio category) with the main prize going to NYTimes.com – one of a total of six awards for the publication.
Two of those successes came in the online newspaper section where NYTimes.com won both the main award and the people’s voice award, in the process beating of competition from Guardian.co.uk, Independent.co.uk, the Wall Street Journal Online and Variety.com.
Timesonline.co.uk was named Electronic News Site of the Year at last night’s Newspaper Awards held at the London Hilton.
The Best Use of New Media prize went to local newspaper Hull Daily Mail’s site thisisyourmail.co.uk.
The Financial Times, fresh from wins at this months British Press Awards, won its third National Newspaper of the Year award of 2008 and the award for National Colour Supplement of the Year for the seventh year running.
The Guardian was highly commended in four out of its five nominated categories, but left without a win.
Ien Cheng, publisher and managing editor of FT.com believe that newspaper websites need to be more responsive to the whims of the web and act like technology companies – adapting to the almost constant changes of the online environment.
Guardian PDA highlights Cheng’s strategic approach:
– Improving the development of new editorial products
– refining the subscription model
– changing the way the business works internally
Guardian.co.uk was named website of the year at last night’s British Press Awards, as the paper picked up three awards.
Guardian journalist Sean Smith was named digital reporter of the year and Ghaith Abdul-Ahad foreign reporter of the year.
The Financial Times also scooped three awards winning the newspaper of the year title and prizes for two of its journalists.
The Sun walked away with most prizes on the night with four: scoop of the year and reporter of the year for Tom Newton Dunn; and its ‘Help for Heroes campaign’ named campaign of the year and winning the Cudlipp award.
Press Gazette has the full list of award winners.