The Financial Times today picked up four awards at the 2011 Editorial Intelligence Comment Awards, now in its third year, which celebrates the work of the finest print and online commentators and their editors.

John Gapper, FT’s chief business commentator, won the Business Commentator award; columnist Simon Kuper was named Cultural Commentator, and Asia bureau chief David Pilling won Foreign Commentator of the year. The Financial Times also received the award for Best Comment Pages. Judges said “the FT’s comment pages, in another year of financial turmoil, had stood out. The FT’s big-hitters, alongside imaginative use of informed outsiders, keep readers ahead of the pack.”
The winners were announced during a breakfast ceremony presented by management consultant and author Peter York, at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, with more than 250 guests in attendance including judges and key opinion formers across media, politics, business and academia.

Earlier this month, the Financial Times was honoured at the International Agenda Setting Awards presented in Lucerne by Media Tenor, the international research institute. The FT was recognized for its diversity, balance and influence. “The tumultuous nature of the last twelve month has only served to underline the importance of diverse and balanced media coverage,” said Media Tenor founder and CEO Roland Schatz. The Financial Times was also awarded the Business Media Award for its diversity of analyst sources, range of covered companies, comprehensiveness of asset classes examined, and internationality of coverage and performance related to the international financial crisis.

Please click here to see the full list of Comment Award winners.