GENERATION NEXT

INTERVIEW: Lionel Barber

Lionel Barber is Editor of the Financial Times newspaper.

What was the first step you took towards achieving your dream?
Lionel Barber: Winning the Laurence Stern Fellowship at the Washington Post was the first step toward achieving my dream of being a top British foreign correspondent. Every year, the Post offers a young(ish) British journalist the chance to work on the paper's national staff for three months in Washington and then travel around the US. I had the chance to work alongside Pulitzer prize winners, Bob Woodward and Ben Bradlee, my favourite newspaper editor. My experience helped me on my path to being an FT foreign correspondent in Washington, Brussels and New York.

When did you know you were well on the way to achieving your dream?
Lionel Barber: I first knew I was on my way to achieving my dream when the White House invited me to brief President George W. Bush ahead of his inaugural trip to Europe in May 2001. Along with four other "experts" I spent two hours talking to the most powerful man on earth. It was an unforgettable experience, even if I wonder how much influence we had on the direction of US foreign policy over the next four years!

How did you know you'd achieved your dream?
Lionel Barber: I suppose I knew I had achieved my dream when I was appointed editor of the Financial Times in November 2005. It is a huge privilege to run one of the world's great newspapers and to work with some of the best journalists around.