Financial Times via SFU: More than just the news

Is your daily news routine filled with random facts & headlines? Why not start your day with a source that offers deeper context and analysis, especially on the topics most relevant to business & economics? Check out the Financial Times!

As you may already know, university-wide access to the Financial Times was made possible in late 2020 through an initiative by the Beedie School of Business. Our direct subscription to the FT gives us full access to their visual & data journalism, videos, podcasts, and much more.

The initial FT subscription was set up as a "test the waters" pilot subscription. We've since renewed it to June 2023, but it still has a pilot status here at SFU. We truly do need your feedback to inform our renewal decision next year! 

• Do you use the FT regularly?
• Do you assign articles from it in classes, or (if you are a student) have you been asked to read FT articles as part of a class?
• What do you get from the FT that you can't easily get from other information sources?

My original post about the Financial Times contained lots of details about the FT's content and about features such as the ability to set up alerts (newsletters). Since then, the FT has become a key part of my news routine. You really can't work in either business or economics without keeping on top of the news, so I make a habit of scanning through a mix of local, national, and international news sources every day.  I appreciate the FT's news articles, but for me the value in our subscription is in the access to the deeper FT content, articles that include analysis and multiple perspectives.

For example...

The Big Read: longform stories that explore and explain key themes in world news, science and business. (And, really, how could a librarian skip a section called "The Big Read"?)
sample: Has the appetite for plant-based meat already peaked?

Special Reports: in-depth FT coverage of countries around the world, as well as industries from tech to luxury, and themes ranging from workplace health to entrepreneurship. They appear in a variety of formats, from magazines and broadsheets, to video and interactive stories.
sample: Circular Economy

News In-Depth: in-depth reporting from FT correspondents around the world
sample: Ukraine’s western capital Lviv readies itself as threat of war grows

Note: The FT has an unusual method for confirming you are a current SFU instructor, student, or staff member. Theoretically, their approach should be smoother than other authentication methods, but it does seem to trip people up at times, likely because it's not the norm here at SFU. Read on for details: 

Access: The first time you access the Financial Times (FT) via the library site, you'll need to fill out a registration form so they can connect you with our institutional subscription. Be sure to use your SFU email address.

After your account is created, visit FT.com to access content. You will only need to enter your SFU email address when you want to view an FT article, report, etc., and their system will briefly redirect you back to the SFU site for SSO (single sign on) access using your SFU ID.

If you need help creating your account, email: customer.support@ft.com

If you have any questions about the Financial Times, or about any other news resource, just email me! 

And, again, please do share your feedback to help us with our renewal decision in 2023.

-- Mark
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Mark Bodnar
Economics & Business Librarian
mbodnar@sfu.ca

P.S.: We also have the Financial Times Historical Archive with page images of all issues from 1888 to 2010. It's definitely not a "current events" source, but the deep history can be incredibly valuable for some types of academic research!