Let us protect the skill of thinking improbably
It has been 8 weeks since I joined the lang cat and now seems like a good moment for some early reflections. The headlines are: I have certainly enjoyed it so far. The opportunity for constant learning and writing is a real pleasure.
Now that I have stepped behind the curtain and had a bit of a wade through, what are my initial impressions? Well, I still feel far off being an expert in pensions, investments, platforms, fintech, and advice, but I’ve certainly got some thoughts about the trade press we read here every day.
Confessions from a former justified text aligner
I’m not just coming over as a civilian to financial services. I have made the move from journalism into PR and communications. Shifting from one aspect of the media to another has reminded me what we’re all trying to do and why it matters.
I have quite an intense passion for news and, in my very biased opinion, it’s currently unloved and undervalued. To be fair, some of the reasons for that are understandable. Paywalls, the cost of physical papers, the almost illegible advert littered websites have all helped drive people away from traditional media and towards alternative sources. These alternatives are often unverified, unregulated and designed to affirm existing beliefs rather than challenge them. They’re basically a bit crap, and probably quite dangerous.
It’s easy to forget that the news business used to be a giant. I’m not quite old enough to remember, but back in 1988, which is nearly forty years ago (some of you won’t thank me for pointing that out), The Sunday People had the resources to employ a dedicated ‘Acid House Correspondent’. Yes. Really. Ted Hines was his name. Today, only the biggest papers can still afford multiple specialist reporters and section-specific desks. If you’re wondering whether The Sunday People still exists, it does. But its circulation has dropped from over 800,000 in 2011 to just above 45,000 now.
Up here on the right side of Hadrian’s Wall, the Halcyon Days of news were in the late 80s and early 90s. Our national daily tabloid, The Daily Record regularly sold over three quarters of a million copies Monday to Saturday. Every. Single. Day. According to my calculator, that was 14% of the population at the time. The Sunday Post was selling close to a million copies then too. And The Herald had its own dedicated newsroom for Business and Westminster correspondents in London. The Scotsman even had a dedicated New York Correspondent.
Many papers don’t give their circulation numbers these days (not a great sign in itself). An old journalism tutor of mine estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 people currently buy a paper every day in Scotland. The Daily Record, who do share their figures, had a daily circulation of just over 42,000 as of April 2025.
The Lamentations of a Former Justified Text Aligner
Turning to the financial trade press, it’s encouraging to see publications with distinct styles, clear reporting niches, a stream of exclusives, features, thought leadership articles, podcasts, interviews, and – in some instances – some proper top-notch investigative journalism. Even with good resources, I have no illusions that this is easy to maintain.
Paywalls and sign-up gates can be annoying, yes, but here’s the hard truth: if we want quality journalism, we need to support the ecosystem that creates it. And yes – that will probably mean all of us who value consuming actual news from actual journalists paying a reasonable price for it. Note… ‘reasonable’.
One of my jobs at the lang cat is to track and share with the team industry developments, breaking news, and stories in which we and our clients appear. This has really immersed me in our trade press. I’ve found it an indispensable asset for learning more about my new industry. (Thanks to all the trade journos out there. Having been on your side of the fence recently, I appreciate what you do with the limited resources at your disposal.)
To risk losing any part of this would be bad not just for the industry but for the people it’s there to serve.
The integrity of the press is crucial for us all. AI is no doubt going to be a big feature in all our lives and it’s developing very quickly. But AI lacks that all too human ability to think improbably, which is a key asset to any journalist or writer, and we should not accept AI content erasing a reporter’s role. Anyone who thinks this is hyperbole should know that there are ‘AI-Assisted Reporters’ currently working up and down the country.
Make sure you find ways to engage with the media you consume and show support for the journalists who make it happen. Share stuff you find interesting and talk about the topics you disagree with, because journalism facilitates the primary driver of any good industry: communication.
Without good source communication and a marketplace for ideas, then the scope for progress is made all that more difficult.
Some food for thought based on the musings of someone who still worships at the altar of justified text alignment. I may still have much to learn about financial services, but I hope that learning and work includes a quality press for a long time to come.
