The End of an Era: Reuters Leaves Fleet Street

Strategic Insights -

Reuters, the international news agency, held a service of Thanksgiving at St Bride's church yesterday to mark its departure from Fleet Street, the historic home of British journalism, to the London Docklands. The agency, which has occupied its ancestral acres at 85 Fleet Street since 1939, is relocating to Canary Wharf, a move that will save £5 million a year by bringing staff in offices across London under one roof.

The service, attended by former Archbishop of Canterbury and Reuters patron, Dr Geoffrey Fisher, and held in the church where William Caxton's printing press was first set up in the 16th century, celebrated the agency's contributions to the industry and its role in scattering the Fleet Street community. The departure has raised suspicions that proprietors wanted to dissipate the close-knit village of journalists, where supposed deadly rivals exchanged exclusive stories over a drink or three.

Fleet Street, a boulevard of banking, has seen the rise of commerce and the decline of traditional journalism. The last national title, The Beano, remains the only one left in the street, a testament to the changing times. The iconic address of Reuters at 85 Fleet Street, a fine Lutyens building, will make way for a new generation of journalists in the brave new world of Canary Wharf.

Key Takeaways:

  • Reuters, the international news agency, held a service of Thanksgiving at St Bride's church yesterday to mark its departure from Fleet Street to the London Docklands.
  • The agency will save £5 million a year by relocating to Canary Wharf, bringing staff in offices across London under one roof.
  • The departure has raised suspicions that proprietors wanted to dissipate the close-knit village of journalists, where supposed deadly rivals exchanged exclusive stories over a drink or three.
  • The last national title, The Beano, remains the only one on Fleet Street, a testament to the changing times.
  • Fleet Street has seen the rise of commerce and the decline of traditional journalism, with former temples of journalism now occupied by the minions of commerce.
  • The relocation of Reuters marks the end of an era in Fleet Street, which has been the inky epicentre of Britain since William Caxton's successors moved his printing press from Westminster to the churchyard of St Bride's in the 16th century.

Statistics:

  • Reuters has occupied its ancestral acres at 85 Fleet Street since 1939.
  • The agency will save £5 million a year by relocating to Canary Wharf.
  • The last national title, The Beano, has been based on Fleet Street for the past hundred years.

Sources:

  • The Times, "Very old news: a vintage lorry hauls a heavy load of reels of newsprint up Fleet Street", 2005
  • The Times, "Reuters holds service of Thanksgiving at St Bride's", 2005
  • Reuters, "Reuters to leave Fleet Street for Canary Wharf", 2005
  • St Bride's church, "Service of Thanksgiving for Reuters", 2005