UK's Guardian agrees sale of world's oldest Sunday paper

LONDON (AFP) — The Guardian Media Group announced Friday it had agreed to sell the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer, to online news company Tortoise Media, brushing aside strikes by staff.

The announcement by GMG and its owner came despite a 48-hour strike this week by more than 500 journalists at the Guardian daily and Observer opposing the deal.

“The boards of the Guardian Media Group and its owner, the Scott Trust, have in principle approved the sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media,” a statement said.

“The new ownership model will protect The Observer’s future, championing the voice of liberal values and investing in exceptional journalism,” it added.

Tortoise, a “slow news” outlet launched in 2019, had approached GMG with an offer to buy the publication and invest more than £25 million ($32 million) over the next five years in the “editorial and commercial renewal of the title.”

Unionized staff members last month voted 93% in favor of strike action, accusing the Scott Trust of “betrayal” over the sale.

“I recognize how unsettling this period has been for Observer staff, but we’re confident we have agreed the best possible way forward,” Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of Guardian News & Media, said in Friday’s statement.

Tortoise, run by former BBC News director James Harding, plans to continue publishing The Observer on Sundays and combine it with its own podcasts and live events.

“We promise its readers we will do all we can to live up to its history,” Harding said of The Observer in a separate statement Friday.

The weekly dates back to 1791.

“This investment will preserve the Observer’s 233-year legacy and protect the paper’s future,” said Anna Bateson, GMG’s chief executive.

Following a deal expected to be signed in the coming days, the Scott Trust will invest in Tortoise Media and become one of its largest shareholders, the statement added.

The two newsrooms will be combined into one and at least a dozen new roles for staff reporters are set to be created.

Tortoise has carved out an online niche with in-depth reports, characterizing its overall approach as not “breaking news but what’s driving the news” with investigations and podcasts.

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By Agence France-Presse