MHP Media Network’s latest ‘In Conversation’ saw our Head of Strategic Media Keith Gladdis speak to Christian May, the editor in chief of City AM. This is Christian’s second stint in charge of City AM after being editor between 2015 and 2020. He told us what he has planned for City AM and shared his wider thoughts on politics, the future of journalism and what really makes a good business story.
City AM has undergone a transformation since the pandemic. With new ownership in place, the title is performing better than ever across its digital platforms. The City AM app boasts 200,000 daily users with numbers growing by the week, the website sees 2.5 million visitors each month.
But Christian still has a commitment to delivering the print edition although that’s now limited to three days a week from Tuesday to Thursday to reflect changing working patterns since the pandemic.
Christian is clear-eyed about the challenges facing traditional media, but also optimistic. While City AM’s print edition remains – “psychologically, the print edition gives the brand a foundational weight” – the strategy is to meet the audience where they are: on mobile, through audio, and increasingly via video.
With a new studio producing regular video and podcast content and ambitions to become a platform for third-party podcasts, the brand is evolving into a multi-channel business media outlet.
City AM has become the most widely syndicated business news provider in the country, with Reach titles, Apple News, Samsung News and Bloomberg among the publishers and platforms that host City AM’s content. This means the paper now reaches a far broader and more geographically diverse audience.
This has reshaped the editorial strategy. The title has a newly established Manchester editorial team, and stories are now written with a wider national lens, with a focus on how economic shifts are playing out across regions, not just in the City.
While other outlets have pulled back from reporting on private companies, City AM still sees their value, if the story is right.
Originality is key, whether it’s in the form of a scoop, a new data point, or a standout executive who can offer something fresh. There’s a strong preference for ‘good news’, Christian pointed out – examples of British business growth, recovery, or innovation – but it needs to be credible and rooted in real outcomes.
Christian was candid about the challenges facing the current Labour leadership. While he praised the ambitions of key cabinet figures like Wes Streeting and Liz Kendall, he is more sceptical of Rachel Reeves.
He questioned whether Reeves will be able to deliver meaningful economic growth, and noted that some of her decisions – particularly around small business policy – will shape up into broader economic problems for the country.
Like most newsrooms, City AM is exploring AI, using tools for low-level tasks and data analysis, particularly in identifying patterns in financial information. But Christian was adamant that AI is off-limits when it comes to writing copy. In a media landscape already grappling with misinformation and blurred lines between fact and opinion, Christian argued that journalistic integrity relies on human judgement.
City AM’s core mission remains unchanged: delivering smart, sharp financial journalism that breaks stories, champions growth, and gives business a voice in the national conversation.
