Graham Watts is an independent media consultant, trainer and editor. He has been involved in training journalists for the past 40 years – at university level in the UK, South Africa and the US, for international journalism training organisations and as unofficial in-house editorial coach at the Financial Times where he worked for 21 years. His ‘day job’ was an editor on the FT’s world news desk with joint responsibility for coverage of economics, trade and global policy issues for 17 years before he helped launch the FT Weekend Magazine in 2003 as deputy to John Lloyd, who he succeeded as editor in 2005.

Even after leaving the FT at the end of 2006 to move to Asia, he continued to conduct regular ‘masterclasses’ at the FT, which he still does, and participates in the FT’s annual graduate trainee programme. Among the consultancy and training positions he has held over the years was official writing coach for financial research analysts at an international bank in Hong Kong.

He has authored and co-authored several manuals for journalists in Asia and has edited non-fiction books. He has also done newsroom consultancy work in India, Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand and Myanmar.

He started journalism as a ‘cub’ reporter on the Daily Dispatch newspaper in East London, South Africa. Born in Durban in 1952, he now lives in England with his Thai wife, a freelance writer and translator, and their twin children.