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''The Independent'' is a British
online newspaper An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newsp ...
. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a
broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid–compact formats. Description Many broadsheets measure roughly ...
and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only the online edition. The newspaper was controlled by Tony O'Reilly's Irish Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to the
Russian oligarch Russian oligarchs (Russian: олигархи, romanized: ''oligarkhi'') are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet ...
and former
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
Officer
Alexander Lebedev Alexander Yevgenievich Lebedev ( rus, Александр Евгеньевич Лебедев, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲebʲɪdʲɪf; born 16 December 1959) is a Russian businessman, and has been referred to as one of t ...
in 2010. In 2017, Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in it. The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004
British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by '' The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named ...
. The website and mobile app had a combined monthly reach of 19,826,000 in 2021.


History


1986 to 1990

Launched in 1986, the first issue of ''The Independent'' was published on 7 October in
broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid–compact formats. Description Many broadsheets measure roughly ...
format.Dennis Griffiths (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p. 330 It was produced by Newspaper Publishing plc and created by
Andreas Whittam Smith Sir Andreas Whittam Smith, (born 13 June 1937) is an English financial journalist, who was one of the founders of ''The Independent'' newspaper, which began publication in October 1986 with Whittam Smith as editor. He is a former president of th ...
, Stephen Glover and
Matthew Symonds Matthew John Symonds (born 20 December 1953) is a British journalist and, since 2018, the executive director of the Larry Ellison Foundation. He was a co-founder of '' The Independent'' in 1986. Born in 1953, Symonds is the son of John Beavan, ...
. All three partners were former journalists at '' The Daily Telegraph'' who had left the paper towards the end of Lord Hartwell's ownership.
Marcus Sieff Marcus Joseph Sieff, Baron Sieff of Brimpton OBE (2 July 1913 – 23 February 2001) was a British businessman and chairman of his family company, the retailer Marks & Spencer, from 1972 to 1982. He was also a leading figure in UK Zionism. Sieff ...
was the first chairman of Newspaper Publishing, and Whittam Smith took control of the paper. The paper was created at a time of a fundamental change in British newspaper publishing. Rupert Murdoch was challenging long-accepted practices of the print unions and ultimately defeated them in the
Wapping dispute The Wapping dispute was a lengthy failed strike by print workers in London in 1986. Print unions tried to block distribution of ''The Sunday Times'', along with other newspapers in Rupert Murdoch's News International group, after production w ...
. Consequently, production costs could be reduced which, it was said at the time, created openings for more competition. As a result of controversy around Murdoch's move to Wapping, the plant was effectively having to function under siege from sacked print workers picketing outside. ''The Independent'' attracted some of the staff from the two Murdoch broadsheets who had chosen not to move to his company's new headquarters. Launched with the advertising slogan "It is. Are you?", and challenging both '' The Guardian'' for centre-left readers and '' The Times'' as the newspaper of record, ''The Independent'' reached a circulation of over 400,000 by 1989. Competing in a moribund market, ''The Independent'' sparked a general freshening of newspaper design as well as, within a few years, a price war in the market sector. When ''The Independent'' launched ''The Independent on Sunday'' in 1990, sales were less than anticipated, partly due to the launch of the ''
Sunday Correspondent ''The Sunday Correspondent'' was a short-lived British weekly national broadsheet newspaper. The newspaper first appeared on 17 September 1989; the title ceased publication with the last issue on 25 November 1990. It was edited by Peter Cole for m ...
'' four months prior, although this direct rival closed at the end of November 1990. Some aspects of production merged with the main paper, although the Sunday paper retained a largely distinct editorial staff.


1990–1999

In the 1990s, ''The Independent'' was faced with price cutting by the Murdoch titles, and started an advertising campaign accusing ''The Times'' and ''The Daily Telegraph'' of reflecting the views of their proprietors, Rupert Murdoch and
Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-born British former newspaper publisher, businessman, and writer. His father was businessman George Montegu Black II, who had significant holdings in Canad ...
. It featured spoofs of the other papers' mastheads with the words ''The Rupert Murdoch'' or ''The Conrad Black'', with ''The Independent'' below the main title. had financial problems. A number of other media companies were interested in the paper. Tony O'Reilly's media group and Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) had bought a stake of about a third each by mid-1994. In March 1995, Newspaper Publishing was restructured with a rights issue, splitting the shareholding into O'Reilly's Independent News & Media (43%), MGN (43%), and Prisa (publisher of ''
El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
'') (12%). In April 1996, there was another refinancing, and in March 1998, O'Reilly bought the other shares of the company for £30 million, and assumed the company's debt. Brendan Hopkins headed Independent News,
Andrew Marr Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist and broadcaster. Beginning his career as a political commentator, he subsequently edited ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to 1998 and was political editor of BBC N ...
was appointed editor of ''The Independent'', and
Rosie Boycott Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott, Baroness Boycott (born 13 May 1951) is a British journalist and feminist. Early life The daughter of Major Charles Boycott and Betty Le Sueur Boycott, Rosel Marie "Rosie" Boycott was born in Saint Helier, Jersey. S ...
became editor of ''The Independent on Sunday''. Marr introduced a dramatic if short-lived redesign which won critical favour but was a commercial failure, partly as a result of a limited promotional budget. Marr admitted his changes had been a mistake in his book, ''My Trade''. Boycott left in April 1998 to join the '' Daily Express'', and Marr left in May 1998, later becoming the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
's political editor. Simon Kelner was appointed as the editor. By this time the circulation had fallen below 200,000. Independent News spent heavily to increase circulation, and the paper went through several redesigns. While circulation increased, it did not approach the level which had been achieved in 1989, or restore profitability. Job cuts and financial controls reduced the morale of journalists and the quality of the product.


2000–2009

Ivan Fallon, on the board since 1995 and formerly a key figure at ''The Sunday Times'', replaced Hopkins as head of Independent News & Media in July 2002. By mid-2004, the newspaper was losing £5 million per year. A gradual improvement meant that by 2006, circulation was at a nine-year high. In November 2008, following further staff cuts, production was moved to Northcliffe House, in Kensington High Street, the headquarters of
Associated Newspapers DMG Media (stylised in lowercase) is an intermediate holding company for Associated Newspapers, Northcliffe Media, Harmsworth Printing, Harmsworth Media and other subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust. It is based at Northcliffe House in ...
. The two newspaper groups' editorial, management and commercial operations remained separate, but they shared services including security, information technology, switchboard and payroll.


2010–2016

On 25 March 2010, Independent News & Media sold the newspaper to a new company owned by the family of
Russian oligarch Russian oligarchs (Russian: олигархи, romanized: ''oligarkhi'') are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet ...
Alexander Lebedev Alexander Yevgenievich Lebedev ( rus, Александр Евгеньевич Лебедев, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲebʲɪdʲɪf; born 16 December 1959) is a Russian businessman, and has been referred to as one of t ...
for a nominal £1 fee and £9.25m over the next 10 months, choosing this option over closing ''The Independent'' and ''The Independent on Sunday'', which would have cost £28m and £40m respectively, due to long-term contracts. Alexander's son Evgeny became Chairman of the new company, with Alexander becoming a board director. In 2009, Lebedev had bought a controlling stake in the '' London Evening Standard''. Two weeks later, editor
Roger Alton Roger Alton (born 20 December 1947 in Oxford) is an English journalist. He was formerly editor of ''The Independent'' and ''The Observer'', and executive editor of ''The Times''. Early life and education He was educated at Clifton College and ...
resigned. In July 2011, ''The Independent''s columnist
Johann Hari Johann Eduard Hari (born 21 January 1979) is a British-Swiss writer and journalist who has written for ''The Independent'' and ''The Huffington Post''. In 2011, Hari was suspended from ''The Independent'' and later resigned, after admitting to ...
was stripped of the Orwell Prize he had won in 2008 after claims, to which Hari later admitted, of plagiarism and inaccuracy. In January 2012,
Chris Blackhurst Chris Blackhurst (born 24 December 1959) is a strategic communications advisor and commentator, who is a former editor of ''The Independent''. For four years, he was a director of CT Partners, the international strategic communications, campaignin ...
, editor of ''The Independent'', told the
Leveson inquiry The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series of ...
that the scandal had "severely damaged" the newspaper's reputation. He nevertheless told the inquiry that Hari would return as a columnist in "four to five weeks". Hari later announced that he would not return to ''The Independent''. Jonathan Foreman contrasted ''The Independent''s reaction to the scandal unfavourably with the reaction of American newspapers to similar incidents such as the Jayson Blair case, which led to resignations of editors, "deep soul-searching", and "new standards of exactitude being imposed". The historian
Guy Walters Guy Edward Barham Walters (born 8 August 1971) is a British author, historian, and journalist. He is the author and editor of nine books on the Second World War, including war thrillers, and a historical analysis of the Berlin Olympic Games. ...
suggested that Hari's fabrications had been an open secret amongst the newspaper's staff and that their internal inquiry was a "facesaving exercise". A proportion of articles are now behind a pay wall; that section is titled 'Independent Minds'. ''The Independent'' and ''The Independent on Sunday'' endorsed "Remain" in the Brexit referendum of 2016.


From 2016

In March 2016 ''The Independent'' decided to close its print edition and become an
online newspaper An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newsp ...
; the last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016. ''The Independent on Sunday'' published its last print edition on 20 March 2016 and was closed following that.


Content


Format and design

''The Independent'' began publishing as a broadsheet, in a series of celebrated designs. The final version was designed by Carroll, Dempsey and Thirkell following a commission by
Nicholas Garland Nicholas Withycombe Garland OBE (born 1 September 1935) is a British political cartoonist. Early life Garland was born in Hampstead, London. His father was a doctor and his mother a sculptor. He was the second of six children: he had three broth ...
who, along with
Alexander Chancellor Alexander Surtees Chancellor, CBE (4 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was a British journalist. Chancellor was educated at Eton College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was the editor of the conservative ''Spectator'' magazine from 1975 to ...
, was unhappy with designs produced by Raymond Hawkey and Michael McGuiness – on seeing the proposed designs, Chancellor had said "I thought we were joining a serious paper". The first edition was designed and implemented by Michael Crozier, who was Executive Editor, Design and Picture, from pre-launch in 1986 to 1994. From September 2003, the paper was produced in both broadsheet and tabloid-sized versions, with the same content in each. The tabloid edition was termed "compact" to distance itself from the more sensationalist reporting style usually associated with "tabloid" newspapers in the UK. After launching in the London area and then in North West England, the smaller format appeared gradually throughout the UK. Soon afterwards, Rupert Murdoch's ''Times'' followed suit, introducing its own tabloid-sized version. Prior to these changes, ''The Independent'' had a daily circulation of around 217,500, the lowest of any major national British daily, a figure that climbed by 15% as of March 2004 (to 250,000). Throughout much of 2006, circulation stagnated at a quarter of a million. On 14 May 2004, ''The Independent'' produced its last weekday broadsheet, having stopped producing a Saturday broadsheet edition in January. ''The Independent on Sunday'' published its last simultaneous broadsheet on 9 October 2005, and thereafter followed a compact design until the print edition was discontinued. On 12 April 2005, ''The Independent'' redesigned its layout to a more European feel, similar to France's '' Libération''. The redesign was carried out by a Barcelona-based design studio. The weekday second section was subsumed within the main paper, double-page feature articles became common in the main news sections, and there were revisions to the front and back covers. A new second section, "Extra", was introduced on 25 April 2006. It is similar to ''The Guardian''s "G2" and ''The Times''s "Times2", containing features, reportage and games, including sudoku. In June 2007, ''The Independent on Sunday'' consolidated its content into a news section which included sports and business, and a magazine focusing on life and culture. On 23 September 2008, the main newspaper became full-colour, and "Extra" was replaced by an "Independent Life Supplement" focusing on different themes each day. Three weeks after the acquisition of the paper by
Alexander Lebedev Alexander Yevgenievich Lebedev ( rus, Александр Евгеньевич Лебедев, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲebʲɪdʲɪf; born 16 December 1959) is a Russian businessman, and has been referred to as one of t ...
and
Evgeny Lebedev Evgeny Alexandrovich Lebedev, Baron Lebedev ( rus, Евгений Александрович Лебедев, Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Lebedev, ; born 8 May 1980), is a Russian-British businessman, who owns Lebedev Holdings Ltd, which in turn own ...
in 2010, the paper was relaunched with another redesign on 20 April. The new format featured smaller headlines and a new pullout "Viewspaper" section, which contained the paper's comment and feature articles. From 26 October 2010, the same day as its sister paper, ''i'', was launched, ''The Independent'' was printed on slightly thicker paper than before and ceased to be full-colour throughout, with many photographs and pictures (though none of those used in adverts) being printed in black and white only. On 11 October 2011, ''The Independent'' unveiled yet another new look, featuring a red, sans-serif masthead. In November 2013, the whole newspaper was overhauled again, including new custom fonts and a vertical masthead in black.


Front pages

Following the 2003 switch in format, ''The Independent'' became known for its unorthodox and campaigning front pages, which frequently relied on images, graphics or lists rather than traditional headlines and written news content. For example, following the Kashmir earthquake in 2005, it used its front page to urge its readers to donate to its appeal fund, and following the publication of the Hutton Report into the death of British government scientist David Kelly, its front page simply carried the word "Whitewash?" In 2003, the paper's editor, Simon Kelner, was named "Editor of the Year" at the '' What the Papers Say'' awards, partly in recognition of, according to the judges, his "often arresting and imaginative front-page designs". In 2008, however, as he was stepping down as editor, he stated that it was possible to "overdo the formula" and that the style of the paper's front pages perhaps needed "reinvention". Under the subsequent editorship of
Chris Blackhurst Chris Blackhurst (born 24 December 1959) is a strategic communications advisor and commentator, who is a former editor of ''The Independent''. For four years, he was a director of CT Partners, the international strategic communications, campaignin ...
, the campaigning, poster-style front pages were scaled back in favour of more conventional news stories.


Sections

The weekday, Saturday and Sunday editions of ''The Independent'' all included supplements and pull-out subsections:


Online presence

On 23 January 2008, ''The Independent'' relaunched its online edition. The relaunched site introduced a new look, better access to the blog service, priority on image and video content, and additional areas of the site including art, architecture, fashion, gadgets and health. The paper launched
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
programmes such as "The Independent Music Radio Show", "The Independent Travel Guides", "The Independent Sailing Podcasts", and "The Independent Video Travel Guides". Since 2009, the website has carried short video news bulletins provided by the
Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة‎, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...
news channel. In 2014, ''The Independent'' launched a sister website, ''i100'', a "shareable" journalism site with similarities to Reddit and
Upworthy Upworthy is a website dedicated to positive storytelling. It was started in March 2012 by Eli Pariser, the former executive director of MoveOn, and Peter Koechley, the former managing editor of ''The Onion''. One of Facebook's co-founders, Chris ...
.


Political views

The Independent is generally described as
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
to
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
,
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...
and liberal-left. When the paper was established in 1986, the founders intended its political stance to reflect the centre of the British political spectrum and thought that it would attract readers primarily from '' The Times'' and '' The Daily Telegraph''. It has been seen as leaning to the left wing of the political spectrum, making it more a competitor to '' The Guardian''. However, ''The Independent'' tends to take a
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...
, pro-market stance on economic issues. ''The'' ''Independent on Sunday'' referred to itself as a "proudly liberal newspaper". The paper has highlighted what it refers to as war crimes being committed by pro-government forces in the
Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...
region of Sudan. The paper has been a strong supporter of
electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of: * Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant ...
. In 1997, ''The Independent on Sunday'' launched a campaign for the decriminalisation of cannabis. Ten years later, it reversed itself, arguing that skunk, the cannabis strain "smoked by the majority of young Britons" in 2007, had become "25 times stronger than resin sold a decade ago". The paper's opinion on the
British monarchy The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
has sometimes been described as republican, though it officially identifies as reformist, wishing for a reformed monarchy that "reflects the nation over which it reigns and which is accountable to the people for its activities". Originally, it avoided royal stories, Whittam Smith later saying he thought the British press was "unduly besotted" with the Royal Family and that a newspaper could "manage without" stories about the monarchy. In 2007,
Alan Rusbridger Alan Charles Rusbridger (born 29 December 1953) is a British journalist, who was formerly editor-in-chief of ''The Guardian'' and then principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Rusbridger became editor-in-chief of ''The Guardian'' in 1995, havi ...
, editor of ''The Guardian'', said of ''The Independent'': "The emphasis on views, not news, means that the reporting is rather thin, and it loses impact on the front page the more you do that". In a 12 June 2007 speech, British Prime Minister
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
called ''The Independent'' a "viewspaper", saying it "was started as an antidote to the idea of journalism as views not news. That was why it was called the Independent. Today it is avowedly a viewspaper not merely a newspaper". ''The Independent'' criticised Blair's comments the following day but later changed format to include a "Viewspaper" insert in the centre of the regular newspaper, designed to feature most of the opinion columns and arts reviews. A leader published on the day of the
2008 London mayoral election The 2008 London mayoral election for the office of Mayor of London, England, was held on 1 May 2008. Conservative candidate Boris Johnson defeated incumbent Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone. It was the third London mayoral election, the previous e ...
compared the candidates and said that, if the newspaper had a vote, it would vote first for the Green Party candidate,
Siân Berry Siân Rebecca Berry (born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who served as Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongside Jonathan Bartley from 2018 to 2021, and as its sole leader from July to October 2021. From 2006 to 2007, sh ...
, noting the similarity between her priorities and those of ''The Independent'', and secondly, with "rather heavy heart", for the incumbent, Ken Livingstone. An Ipsos MORI poll estimated that in the 2010 general election, 44% of regular readers voted Liberal Democrat, 32% voted Labour, and 14% voted
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
, compared to 23%, 29%, and 36%, respectively, of the overall electorate. On the eve of the 2010 general election, ''The Independent'' supported the Liberal Democrats, arguing that
ey are longstanding and convincing champions of civil liberties, sound economics, international co-operation on the great global challenges and, of course, fundamental electoral reform. These are all principles that this newspaper has long held dear.
However, before the 2015 general election, ''The Independent on Sunday'' desisted from advising its readers how to vote, writing that "this does not mean that we are a bloodless, value-free news-sheet. We have always been committed to social justice", but the paper recognised that it was up the readers to "make up heirown mind about whether you agree with us or not". Rather than support a particular party, the paper urged all its reader to vote as "a responsibility of common citizenship". On 4 May 2015, the weekday version of ''The Independent'' said that a continuation of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition after the general election would be a positive outcome. At the end of July 2018, ''The Independent'' led a campaign they called the "Final Say" – a
change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care ab ...
petition by editor
Christian Broughton Christian Broughton is a British journalist. He has been the managing director of ''The Independent'' since October 2020. Previously he was the editor of the newspaper between 2016 and 2020. Career Broughton was sports editor at ''The Indep ...
, for a binding referendum on the
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
deal between the UK and the European Union. As of October 2018, ''Independent Arabia'' is owned and managed by Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), a major publishing organisation with close ties to the Saudi royal family, and further news websites of ''The Independent'' in Persian, Turkish and Urdu run by the same company are planned.


Personnel


Editors

There have also been various guest editors over the years, such as Elton John on 1 December 2010, the Body Shop's
Anita Roddick Dame Anita Lucia Roddick (23 October 1942 – 10 September 2007) was a British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner, best known as the founder of the British version of The Body Shop, now The Body Shop Internation ...
on 19 June 2003 and U2's Bono in 2006.


Writers and columnists

;Predominantly in ''The Independent'': * Yasmin Alibhai-Brown * Bruce Anderson *
Paul Arden Paul Arden (7 April 1940 – 2 April 2008) was a creative director of Saatchi and Saatchi and an author of several books on advertising and motivation, including ''Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite'' and ''It's Not How Good You Are, It's How ...
*
Archie Bland James Franklin Archibald "Archie" Bland (born 7 October 1983), is a British newspaper journalist who writes the Guardian's daily morning newsletter First Edition. Bland was previously the deputy editor of ''The Independent'', a national Britis ...
* Thom Brooks *
Andrew Brown (writer) Andrew Brown (born 1955 in London) is an English journalist, writer, and editor. He was one of the founding staff members of ''The Independent'', where he worked as a religious correspondent, parliamentary sketch writer, and a feature writer. He ...
* Cooper Brown * Michael Brown *
Simon Calder Simon Calder (born 25 December 1955) is a freelance UK travel journalist and broadcaster. He works for various news and travel publications as well as being travel correspondent for ''The Independent''. Biography In 1962, Calder joined the Wo ...
* Ben Chu *
Alexa Chung Alexa Chung (born 5 November 1983) is a British television presenter, model, internet personality, writer, and fashion designer. She wrote the book ''It'' (2013). Her fashion label Alexa Chung, stylized , launched in May 2017 and closed in 2022 ...
*
Rob Cowan Rob Cowan (born 14 April 1948) is an English music broadcaster and writer. Employed by music publisher Boosey & Hawkes for nineteen years in various capacities, his first record review was published in 1967.
*
Sloane Crosley Sloane Crosley (born August 3, 1979) is an American writer living in New York City known for her humorous essays, including the collections '' I Was Told There'd Be Cake'', ''How Did You Get This Number'', and ''Look Alive Out There''. She has al ...
* Tracey Emin *
Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage (; born 3 April 1964) is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party (renamed Reform UK in 2021) from 20 ...
*
Mitch Feierstein Mitchell B. Feierstein is a British-American investor, banker and writer. He has worked as a columnist for the Daily Mail and works as a columnist for The Independent and the Huffington Post. Feierstein appears regularly as a financial commentator o ...
*
Andrew Feinberg Andrew Feinberg is an American journalist and White House Correspondent whose work has appeared in ''The Independent'', ''Newsweek'', ''Politico'', ''Washington Business Journal'', and other news outlets. Early life Feinberg was born to a Jewi ...
*
Helen Fielding Helen Fielding (born 19 February 1958) is an English novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones, and a sequence of novels and films beginning with the life of a thirty something singleton in Lo ...
* Robert Fisk *
Eric Garcia Eric Garcia may refer to: *Eric Garcia (writer) (born 1972), American writer *Eric García (footballer, born 1993), Spanish football midfielder *Eric Garcia (basketball) (born 1994), American basketball player *Eric García (footballer, born 2001) ...
*
Chris Gulker Christian Frederick "Chris" Gulker (March 10, 1951 – October 27, 2010) was an American photographer, programmer, writer, and pioneer in electronic publishing. A "Silicon Valley pioneer," Gulker was "instrumental in introducing the digital pub ...
* Ian Hamilton *
Howard Jacobson Howard Eric Jacobson (born 25 August 1942) is a British novelist and journalist. He is known for writing comic novels that often revolve around the dilemmas of British Jewish characters.Ragi, K. R., "Howard Jacobson's ''The Finkler Question'' a ...
* Alex James * Peter Jenkins *
Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for '' The Guardian'' and contributes to the '' New Statesman'' and '' Tribune.'' He has ...
*
Andrew Keen Andrew Keen (born c. 1960Saracevic, Alan T. (15 October 2006)Debate 2.0 / Weighing the merits of the new Webocracy.''San Francisco Chronicle'' ("Age: 46")) is a British-American entrepreneur and author. He is particularly known for his view th ...
*
Dominic Lawson Dominic Ralph Campden Lawson (born 17 December 1956) is a British journalist. Background Lawson was born to a Jewish family, the elder son of Conservative politician Nigel Lawson and his first wife socialite Vanessa Salmon. Lawson was educat ...
*
John Lichfield John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
*
Philip Llewellin Philip "Phil" Llewellin (23 October 1940 – 1 July 2005) was a British journalist and writer. Born in Oswestry, Shropshire, he was educated at Oswestry School and Wycliffe College, Gloucestershire. After a brief career in insurance, he started i ...
* Laura Lyons *
Andy McSmith Andy McSmith is a far-left freelance English journalist. He was a journalist at ''The Independent'' newspaper from April 2007 to April 2016, having previously been political correspondent on the same paper, and political editor of the ''Independ ...
* Donald MacIntyre *
Serena Mackesy Serena Mackesy (pen name, Alex Marwood; born c. 1960s) is a British novelist and journalist who lives in London. Life and education Serena Mackesy is the daughter of the Scots-born Oxford military historian Piers Mackesy. She is also the granddau ...
*
Tracey MacLeod Tracey MacLeod (born 30 October 1960 in Ipswich, Suffolk) is an English journalist and broadcaster. She has presented arts and music programming, including '' The Late Show'' (1989–95) and its musical offshoots ''New West'' and ''Words and M ...
*
Rhodri Marsden Rhodri Marsden (born 1 October 1971) is a London-based writer and musician. Journalism Prior to the demise of the print edition of ''The Independent'', Marsden wrote a technology column for nearly ten years, along with other columns on a range o ...
*
Jan McGirk Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...
*
Deborah Orr Deborah Jane Orr (23 September 1962 – 19 October 2019) was a British journalist who worked for ''The Guardian'', ''The Independent'' and other publications. Early life and education Orr was born on 23 September 1962 to Winifred "Win" and John ...
*
Christina Patterson Christina Mary Patterson (born 1963) is a British journalist. Now a freelancer, she was formerly a writer and columnist at ''The Independent.'' Biography Patterson was born in Rome to a Swedish Lutheran mother and Scottish Presbyterian father w ...
*
Peter Popham Peter Popham (born 10 January 1952) is an English journalist, author, and playwright. He is best known for his journalism at ''The Independent'' from 1990 to 2016, and his books on Aung San Suu Kyi. Early life Popham was born in Cork, Ireland, i ...
* Simon Read *
Steve Richards Steve Richards (born 6 June 1960) is a British TV presenter and political columnist, who has written columns for the ''Guardian'', ''Independent'', ''New Statesman'' and ''Spectator''. He regularly presents Radio 4's ''Week in Westminster'' and ho ...
*
Lizzie Dearden Lizzie or Lizzy is a nickname for Elizabeth or Elisabet, often given as an independent name in the United States, especially in the late 19th century. Lizzie can also be the shortened version of Lizeth, Lissette or Lizette. People * Elizabeth ...
*
Ash Sarkar Ashna Sarkar (born 1992) is a British journalist and libertarian communist political activist. She is a senior editor at Novara Media and teaches at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. Sarkar is a contributor to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Ind ...
*
Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gr ...
* Will Self *
Mark Steel Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian and newspaper columnist. He has made many appearances on radio and television shows as a guest panellist, and has written regular columns in '' The Guardian'', ' ...
*
Catherine Townsend Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Chris ...
*
Paul Vallely Paul Vallely CMG is a British writer on religion, ethics, Africa and development issues. In his seminal 1990 book ''Bad Samaritans: First World Ethics and Third World Debt'', he first coined the phrase that campaigners needed to move "from char ...
*
Brian Viner Brian Viner (born 25 October 1961, London) is an English journalist and author. Viner was born to an unmarried mother at the now demolished Royal Northern Hospital, London, and was adopted by a couple in Southport, Merseyside when a few weeks ol ...
* Lynne Walker *
Andreas Whittam Smith Sir Andreas Whittam Smith, (born 13 June 1937) is an English financial journalist, who was one of the founders of ''The Independent'' newspaper, which began publication in October 1986 with Whittam Smith as editor. He is a former president of th ...
*
Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...
;Predominantly ''The Independent on Sunday'': *
Janet Street-Porter Janet Vera Street-Porter (''née'' Bull; born 27 December 1946) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and media personality. She began her career as a fashion writer and columnist at the ''Daily Mail'' and was later appointed fashion e ...
—Editor-at-Large *
Kate Bassett Kate Bassett (born 11 February 1967) is a British journalist who writes for ''The Times'' newspaper as a theatre critic. She was educated at the Hertfordshire and Essex High School, won a Bernard Sunley Scholarship to Westminster School in Lond ...
—Theatre *
Patrick Cockburn Patrick Oliver Cockburn ( ; born 5 March 1950) is a journalist who has been a Middle East correspondent for the ''Financial Times'' since 1979 and, from 1990, ''The Independent''. He has also worked as a correspondent in Moscow and Washington ...
,
John Rentoul John Rentoul (born 1958) is a British journalist. He is the chief political commentator for ''The Independent''. Early life Rentoul was born in India, where his father was a minister of the Church of South India. Educated at Wolverhampton Gramm ...
,
Joan Smith Joan Alison Smith (born 27 August 1953) is an English journalist, novelist, and human rights activist, who is a former chair of the Writers in Prison committee in the English section of International PEN and was the Executive Director of Hack ...
,
Paul Vallely Paul Vallely CMG is a British writer on religion, ethics, Africa and development issues. In his seminal 1990 book ''Bad Samaritans: First World Ethics and Third World Debt'', he first coined the phrase that campaigners needed to move "from char ...
, and
Alan Watkins Alan Rhun Watkins (3 April 1933 – 8 May 2010) was for over 50 years a British political columnist in various London-based magazines and newspapers. He also wrote about wine and rugby. Life and career Alan Watkins was born in Tycroes, Carmar ...
—"Comment & Debate" *
Peter Cole Peter Cole is a MacArthur-winning poet and translator who lives in Jerusalem and New Haven. Cole was born in 1957 in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended Williams College and Hampshire College, and moved to Jerusalem in 1981. He has been called "o ...
—"On the Press" *
Rupert Cornwell Rupert Howard Cornwell (22 February 1946 – 31 March 2017) was a British journalist connected with ''The Independent'' newspaper for thirty years. Early life and education Born to Ronnie Cornwell and Jeanie Gronow (née Neal) in 1946 Marylebon ...
—"Out of America" *
Hermione Eyre Hermione Eyre (born 1980) is a British journalist, novelist, and former child actor. Early life Hermione Eyre was born in 1980. Her parents were Sir Reginald Eyre, a British Conservative party politician, and Anne Clements. Her godmother was th ...
—Reviews *
Jenny Gilbert Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of h ...
—Dance *
Christopher Hirst Christopher Halliwell Hirst (born 27 May 1947) is a former English cricketer and educator. Hirst was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break. He was born in Odsal, Bradford, Yorkshire. Hirst attended Trinity Hall, Cambridge. ...
and Lucinda Rogers—"The Weasel" (weekly illustrated column 1995–2008) *
Dom Joly Dominic John Romulus Joly (; born 15 November 1967) is an English comedian and writer. He is best known as the star of ''Trigger Happy TV'' (2000–2003), a hidden camera prank show that was broadcast in over 70 countries worldwide. Early lif ...
—"First Up" in The Sunday Review * Tim Minogue and
David Randall David Randall (April 1951 – 17 July 2021) was a British journalist and author of ''The Universal Journalist'', a textbook on journalism. He was assistant editor of ''The Observer'' until 1998, when he joined ''The Independent on Sunday'' and ...
—"Observatory" *
Cole Moreton Cole may refer to: Plants * Cole crops of the genus ''Brassica'', especially cabbage, kale, or rape (rapeseed). People * Cole (given name), people with the given name Cole * Cole (surname), people with the surname Cole Companies * Cole Moto ...
—"News Analysis" (Regular double-spread) *
Anna Picard Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...
—Opera and Classical *
Simon Price Simon Price (born 25 September 1967) is a British music journalist and author. He is known for his weekly review section in ''The Independent on Sunday'' and his book ''Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers)''. Career Writer Pric ...
—Rock and Pop


Photographers

*
Timothy Allen Timothy Allen (born 1971) is an English photographer and filmmaker best known for his work with indigenous people and isolated communities around the world. Early life Timothy Allen was born in Tonbridge, Kent, England, the second son of two ...
*
Craig Easton Craig Easton (born 26 February 1979) is a Scottish football former player and coach. He began his playing career with Dundee United in 1996 and went on to play over 200 first team matches, before leaving the club in 2004. He subsequently played f ...
*Brian Harris


Longford Prize

''The Independent'' sponsors the Longford Prize, in memory of
Lord Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...
.


Related publications


''The Independent on Sunday''

''The Independent on Sunday'' (''IoS'') was the Sunday sister newspaper of ''The Independent''. It ceased to exist in 2016, the last edition being published on 20 March; the daily paper ceasing print publication six days later.


The ''i''

In October 2010, the ''i'', a compact sister newspaper, was launched. The ''i'' is a separate newspaper but uses some of the same material. It was later sold to regional newspaper company
Johnston Press Johnston Press plc was a multimedia company founded in Falkirk, Scotland, in 1767. Its flagship titles included UK-national newspaper the '' i'', '' The Scotsman'', the ''Yorkshire Post'', the ''Falkirk Herald'', and Belfast's ''The News Letter ...
, becoming that publisher's flagship national newspaper. The ''i''s online presence, ''i100'', was restyled as ''indy100'' and retained by Independent News & Media.


Indy100

The online news site indy100 was announced by ''The Independent'' in February 2016, to be written by journalists but with stories selected by 'upvotes' from readers. "Because indy100 is from The Independent you can still trust us to take our facts very seriously (even the funny ones). Some of the stories will have been inspired by the brilliant work in ''The Independent''. Most will be from the crack team of indy100 journalists."


''The (RED) Independent''

''The Independent'' supported U2 lead singer Bono's Product RED brand by creating ''The (RED) Independent'', an occasional edition that gave half the day's proceeds to the charity. The first edition was in May 2006. Edited by Bono, it drew high sales. A September 2006 edition of ''The (RED) Independent'', designed by fashion designer
Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...
, drew controversy due to its cover shot, showing model Kate Moss in
blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...
for an article about AIDS in Africa.


Awards and nominations

''The Independent'' was awarded "National Newspaper of the Year" for 2003 and the ''Independent on Sunday'' was awarded "Front Page of the Year" for 2014's "Here is the news, not the propaganda", printed on 5 October 2014. ''Independent'' journalists have won a range of British Press Awards, including: * "Business & Finance Journalist of the Year": Michael Harrison, 2000; Hamish McRae, 2005; Stephen Foley, 2008 * "Cartoonist of the Year": Dave Brown, 2012 * "Columnist of the Year": Robert Chalmers (''Independent on Sunday''), 2004; Mark Steel, 2014 * "Foreign Reporter of the Year": Patrick Cockburn, 2014 * "Interviewer of the Year": Mathew Norman, 2007; Deborah Ross, 2011 * "Political Journalist of the Year": Francis Elliott (''Independent on Sunday''), 2005 * "Specialist Journalist of the Year": Michael McCarthy, 2000; Jeremy Laurance, 2011 * "Sports Journalist of the Year": James Lawton, 2010 * "Young Journalist of the Year": Johann Hari, 2002; Ed Caesar, 2006 In January 2013, ''The Independent'' was nominated for the Responsible Media of the Year award at the
British Muslim Awards The British Muslim Awards are an annual award ceremony that honours the success and achievements of British Muslim individuals, groups and businesses. It was established in 2013. Overview The British Muslim Awards was founded by Oceanic Consulti ...
.


In popular culture

''The Independent'' is regularly referenced in the
Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced d ...
comedy '' Ted Lasso'' as the employer of recurring character Trent Crimm (
James Lance James Frederick Grenville Lance (born 29 September 1974) is an English actor, best known for his appearances in a number of British comedy series and the British-American comedy series ''Ted Lasso'' for which he was nominated for a Primetime E ...
), a skeptical reporter who is very critical of Ted's coaching but touched by his compassion.


See also

* ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize * Brett Straub incident


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Independent, The 1986 establishments in the United Kingdom Centre-left newspapers Centrist newspapers Daily newspapers published in the United Kingdom Liberal media in the United Kingdom Newspapers established in 1986 National newspapers published in the United Kingdom Newspapers published in London Online newspapers with defunct print editions Republicanism in the United Kingdom Social liberalism