• Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Thursday, October 9, 2025
No Result
View All Result
UK Herald
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Sports
    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • food
    • Health
    • Travel
    Major airline removes carry-on bag sizers from boarding gates

    Major airline removes carry-on bag sizers from boarding gates

    Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge review: ‘It doesn’t get bigger than this…’

    Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge review: ‘It doesn’t get bigger than this…’

    What is Bleach or Facial, Best for Skin?

    What is Bleach or Facial, Best for Skin?

    Tourists are flocking to a mind-bending Chinese megacity where Google Maps doesn’t work

    Tourists are flocking to a mind-bending Chinese megacity where Google Maps doesn’t work

    An ESTA change has just made travelling to America more expensive for Brits

    An ESTA change has just made travelling to America more expensive for Brits

    The best Maldives alternatives that are cheaper — and three are in Europe

    The best Maldives alternatives that are cheaper — and three are in Europe

    Italy strikes for Gaza: What tourists need to know amid travel disruption in Rome and Milan

    Italy strikes for Gaza: What tourists need to know amid travel disruption in Rome and Milan

    ‘Dystopian’ cruise ship divides travellers — and gives a glimpse into the future

    ‘Dystopian’ cruise ship divides travellers — and gives a glimpse into the future

    Airline launches flights from £9 to European hotspots including Majorca, Alicante and Seville

    Airline launches flights from £9 to European hotspots including Majorca, Alicante and Seville

    I feel like a stranger in the UK after 21 years abroad

    I feel like a stranger in the UK after 21 years abroad

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Health
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Crypto
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Sports
  • More
    • Press Release
UK Herald
No Result
View All Result

James Harding says plan to buy Observer is boost to ‘liberal journalism’

by Justin Marsh
September 19, 2024
0
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterReddit


James Harding, who has suggested editor Victoria Newton should resign over unanswered questions for The Sun regarding its Huw Edwards coverage

Tortoise founder James Harding has spoken out in support of his bid to buy The Observer amid a staff backlash over the deal.

On Wednesday, around 250 Guardian and Observer journalists attended an emergency National Union of Journalists meeting to discuss news broken to them on Tuesday that a deal was on the table for Tortoise to buy The Observer from The Scott Trust.

They unanimously passed two motions. The first said they were “united in opposition to the sale of The Observer newspaper to Tortoise Media” and that it was a “betrayal of the Scott Trust’s commitment to the Observer as part of the Guardian News and Media Family”.

Whilst acknowledging the promise of £25m investment over five years and assurances that the 70 Observer staff affected will keep their jobs, the motion notes: “The proposed sale does not, and cannot, offer the same security to the Observer and its staff as they seek to maintain their reputation for journalistic excellence, independence, courage and integrity.”

The motion also notes that there will be “no security” in a “relatively small business with scant resources to withstand headwinds”. (Guardian Media Group is protected by a £1.3bn endowment fund).

A motion of no confidence in The Scott Trust was also passed unanimously, saying the proposed sale has wider ramifications “for the future of liberal journalism and the trust’s ability to protect the Guardian, the Observer and liberal journalism in perpetuity”.

James Harding responds to NUJ statement on Observer bid

James Harding responded to the NUJ statement, telling Press Gazette: “We are pleased that the NUJ recognises the £25m investment in The Observer and they recognise we are securing the jobs of the people at The Observer. We don’t think this is going to reduce the resources going into liberal journalism, evidence-based reporting and informed opinion. It is going to increase them.

“This puts new money into The Observer for the first time in a long time and, it seems to us, also makes possible more investment in The Guardian.”

Press Gazette understands that the £5m a year investment over five years is intended to be spent on editorial, marketing and a new digital platform and is separate from any general running costs for the title.

The question of whether there will be any further purchase price for the Observer (in addition to the promised investment) remains unanswered and is presumably the subject of confidential negotiation.

Tortoise Media is currently in a 90-day period of exclusive negotiations with Guardian Media Group. Although staff have been told the deal is not a “fait accompli”, The Scott Trust (which owns The Guardian) made an oblique reference to The Observer deal on Tuesday as it announced revenue down for the year to the end of March and cash outflow from the business of £36.5m.

Scott Trust chair Ole Jacob Sunde said: “The Scott Trust has provided a bridge through challenging economic periods. But it is not there to fill gaps in annual operating budgets.

“We still require The Guardian to be a sustainable business on its own terms – and we must be honest about areas of the business that are not part of our future growth and adapt.”

It is widely assumed that The Observer loses money and that this a key motivator for the deal.

However, Press Gazette understands The Observer newspaper made a contribution of £3.4m to the business for the year to August 2024 if you subtract directly-attributable revenue of £16.4m from directly-attributable costs of £13m.

Revenue directly attributable to The Observer for the year included £13.9m from newspaper sales and £2.6m from print advertising.

Costs directly attributable to The Observer included staff and contributor costs of £7.3m and newspaper cost of sales totalling £5.6m.

But it should be noted that these figures do not include any shared Guardian resources which include: editorial, marketing, technology and office. These figures also don’t include any digital revenue driven by Observer journalism.

Staff reacted with fury to news

Guardian staff were briefed on Tuesday morning about the proposed Tortoise deal and one insider said they were left furious about the lack of detail they were given.

Some Observer staff were also upset at the suggestion that they were not part of The Guardian and never had been. The Scott’s Trust’s remit is to protect the journalism of The Guardian “in perpetuity”.

All Observer journalism is uploaded to the Guardian website and staff are employees of Guardian News and Media.

Key questions raised by staff include: who is funding the deal and how will the new Observer fill sections which are currently provided out of shared Guardian resources (such as business, sport and international)? Observer journalists also fear they will lose protections currently enjoyed under the NUJ house agreement with Guardian Media Group, which include a ban on compulsory redundancies. They fear that if the standalone Observer fails, they will be out of jobs.

Meanwhile, Guardian journalists have concerns that they will now be required to fill the gaps in weekend coverage caused by the loss of Observer journalism.

Some Observer journalists are annoyed that the news was broken directly after the closure of a voluntary redundancy scheme, during which around 30 Guardian and Observer journalists left on enhanced terms. Requests to re-open the redundancy scheme are understood to have been rebuffed.

How will a standalone Observer work?

Press Gazette understands that the model Harding plans to follow for The Observer is similar to that of The Atlantic, a monthly US current affairs magazine which was bought by billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs in 2017. That title went from losing $20m a year in 2020 to profitability. It currently has more than one million subscribers equally split between print and digital.

The hope is that The Observer can be transformed from a declining print business into a growing print/digital one funded by a paywalled website.

The Observer does not publish an ABC circulation figure, but Press Gazette understands it had average weekly sales of 109,000 as of March (the end of the financial year).

Funding for The Observer deal is being backed by existing Tortoise shareholders – who include David Thomson, Lansdowne Partners and Local Globe – and other as-yet unnamed investors. Thomson is the chairman of Thomson Reuters with an estimated personal wealth of more than $70bn.

Press Gazette understands that, as with Tortoise, no single investor would have overall control of The Observer if the deal goes through.

Guardian Media Group chief executive Anna Bateson said on Tuesday: “This is an exciting strategic opportunity for the Guardian Media Group. It provides a chance to build the Observer’s future position with a significant investment and allow the Guardian to focus on its growth strategy to be more global, more digital and more reader-funded.”

The post James Harding says plan to buy Observer is boost to ‘liberal journalism’ appeared first on Press Gazette.



Source link

Related Posts

News diary 6-12 October: Labour deputy leader ballot opens, Greater Anglia trains nationalised, Nobel Prizes announced

by Justin Marsh
October 4, 2025
0

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Leading the week Monday (October 6): Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride delivers speech on...

Newsletter tips from the New York Times: Visuals, strong host, short, intimate

Newsletter tips from the New York Times: Visuals, strong host, short, intimate

by Justin Marsh
September 29, 2025
0

New York Times editorial director for newsletters Jodi Rudoren told Press Gazette what makes a good email update as the title launched a new daily edition. The World has a five-strong editorial...

Hearst UK losses grow as search changes hit digital ad revenue

Hearst UK losses grow as search changes hit digital ad revenue

by Justin Marsh
September 24, 2025
0

A second year of traffic turbulence led to continued revenue decline at Hearst UK in 2024, according to newly-filed accounts. Total revenue at National Magazine Company Ltd (the trading name of Hearst...

Journalist going to trial after highlighting porn shared by ex-MP on X

Journalist going to trial after highlighting porn shared by ex-MP on X

by Justin Marsh
September 19, 2025
0

Retired Brighton-based journalist Greg Hadfield will go to trial over drawing attention to an obscene X message posted by the account of former Labour MP Ivor Caplin. Hadfield applied for the court...

News diary 15-21 September: Trump visits UK, interest rate decision, sentencing of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon

News diary 15-21 September: Trump visits UK, interest rate decision, sentencing of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon

by Justin Marsh
September 14, 2025
0

The week ahead looks to be dominated by the visit of Donald Trump for the UK, as the US President arrives Tuesday and takes part in a State Banquet with King Charles...

Lifestyle brand Refinery29 closes UK office and lays off journalists

Lifestyle brand Refinery29 closes UK office and lays off journalists

by Justin Marsh
September 9, 2025
0

US-based digital media company Refinery29 has closed its UK operations and made an unknown number of company-wide cuts. The site’s output includes content on lifestyle, fashion, wellness, relationships and money. Its sub-brand...

Next Post
These resorts are changing the way we think about the Maldives

These resorts are changing the way we think about the Maldives

Popular News

Clive Lewis: ‘Robin Cook showed us politics at its most serious. Labour has lost that balance’

Clive Lewis: ‘Robin Cook showed us politics at its most serious. Labour has lost that balance’

October 8, 2025
Nobel Prize of Physics to 3 American Scientists for Energy Level Search

Nobel Prize of Physics to 3 American Scientists for Energy Level Search

October 7, 2025
Major airline removes carry-on bag sizers from boarding gates

Major airline removes carry-on bag sizers from boarding gates

October 7, 2025
Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of 'Peripheral Immune Tolerance'

Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of 'Peripheral Immune Tolerance'

October 6, 2025
Obama in London: Have Starmer and Labour already shown they were listening?

Obama in London: Have Starmer and Labour already shown they were listening?

October 6, 2025
Week-in-Review: The calling of Keir Starmer

Week-in-Review: The calling of Keir Starmer

October 4, 2025
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge review: ‘It doesn’t get bigger than this…’

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge review: ‘It doesn’t get bigger than this…’

October 4, 2025
UK Herald

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK

Important Links

  • Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise

...

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Science
  • National
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Sports
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Food

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK