''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish

compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...

newspaper and daily news website headquartered in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

until August 2004. Its parent company,

National World National World is a British multimedia company based in Leeds, England. The company was founded and listed on the London Stock Exchange in September 2019 as a media takeover vehicle. In January 2021, it acquired JPIMedia for £10.2 million. I ...

, also publishes the ''

Edinburgh Evening News The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by National World, whic ...

''. It had an audited print circulation of 8,762 for July to December 2022. Its website, Scotsman.com, had an average of 138,000 unique visitors a day as of 2017. The title celebrated its bicentenary on 25 January 2017.

History

Scotsman Office 1860 by Peddie and Kinnear

''The Scotsman'' was conceived in 1816 and first launched on 25 January 1817 as a liberal weekly newspaper by lawyer William Ritchie and

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

official

Charles Maclaren Charles Maclaren, (7 October 1782 – 10 September 1866), was a Scottish journalist and geologist. He co-founded ''The Scotsman'' newspaper, was its editor for 27 years, edited the 6th Edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', and was the f ...

in response to the "unblushing subservience" of competing newspapers to the Edinburgh establishment. These two plus

John Ramsay McCulloch John Ramsay McCulloch (1 March 1789 – 11 November 1864) was a Scottish economist, author and editor, widely regarded as the leader of the Ricardian school of economists after the death of David Ricardo in 1823. He was appointed the first pr ...

were co-founders of the venture. The paper was pledged to "impartiality, firmness and independence". The price was originally 6d plus 4d tax. After the abolition of newspaper

stamp tax Stamp duty is a duty (tax), tax that is levied on single property purchases or documents (including, historically, the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions). Histo ...

in Scotland in 1855, ''The Scotsman'' was relaunched as a daily newspaper priced at 1d and a circulation of 6,000 copies. The fledgling paper was originally based at 257 High Street on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

in Edinburgh. Until 1860 the Scotsman shared a building with the

Caledonian Mercury The ''Caledonian Mercury'' was a newspaper in Edinburgh, Scotland, published three times a week between 1720 and 1867. In 2010 an online publication launched using the name. 17th century A short-lived predecessor, the '' Mercurius Caledonius'', ...

newspaper. In 1860, The Scotsman obtained its own purpose built office on

Cockburn Street Cockburn Street ( ) is a street in Edinburgh's Old Town, created as a serpentine link from the High Street to Waverley Station in 1856. Originally named Lord Cockburn Street after the then recently deceased Scottish lawyer, judge and litera ...

designed in the

Scots baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival which Revivalism (architecture), revived the forms and ornaments of historical Architecture of Scotland in the Middle Ages, ...

style by the architects

Peddie & Kinnear Peddie may refer to: Surname: *Dr Alexander Peddie, Scottish physician *Bruce Peddie, American college baseball coach *Jack Peddie (1876–1928), Scottish football player who played for various clubs in both England and Scotland *James Peddie, Baro ...

. This backed onto their original offices on the Royal Mile. The building bears the initials "JR" for John Ritchie, the founder of the company. On 19 December 1904, they moved to much larger new offices at the top of Cockburn Street, facing onto North Bridge, designed by

Dunn & Findlay Dunn & Findlay were a firm of Scottish architects operating in the late 19th century and responsible for a number of important commercial buildings including ''The Scotsman'' buildings which form part of the Edinburgh Old Town skyline. Each w ...

(Findlay being the son of the then owner). This huge building had taken three years to build and also had connected printworks on Market Street (in 2024 the City Art Centre). The printworks connected below road level direct to

Waverley station Edinburgh Waverley (also known simply as Edinburgh; ) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East C ...

in an efficient production line. In 1953 the newspaper was bought by Canadian millionaire

Roy Thomson Roy Herbert Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet, (5 June 1894 – 4 August 1976) was a Canadian-born British newspaper proprietor who became one of the moguls of Fleet Street in London. He first came to prominence when he was selling radios in ...

who was in the process of building a large media group. The paper was bought in 1995 by

David and Frederick Barclay Sir David Rowat Barclay (27 October 1934 – 10 January 2021) and Sir Frederick Hugh Barclay (born 27 October 1934), commonly referred to as the "Barclay Brothers" or "Barclay Twins", were British billionaire brothers, of whom Frederick Barclay ...

for £85 million. They moved the newspaper from its Edinburgh office on North Bridge, which is now an upmarket hotel, to modern offices in Holyrood Road designed by Edinburgh architects CDA, near the subsequent location of the

Scottish Parliament Building The Scottish Parliament Building (; ) is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood, within the World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 ...

. The daily was awarded by the

Society for News Design A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

(SND) the World's Best Designed Newspaper for 1994. In December 2005, ''The Scotsman'' along with its sister titles owned by The Scotsman Publications Ltd was acquired, in a £160million deal, by

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'' ...

, a company founded in Scotland and at the time one of the top three largest local newspaper publishers in the UK. Ian Stewart has been the editor since June 2012, after a reshuffle of senior management in April 2012 during which John McLellan who was the paper's editor-in-chief was dismissed. Ian Stewart was previously editor of ''

'' and remains as the editor of ''

Scotland on Sunday ''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by National World and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate ''The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in ...

''. In 2012, ''The Scotsman'' was named Newspaper of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards. In 2006 the Barclay Brothers sold Barclay House to Irish property magnate Lochlann Quinn, and in 2013 Scottish video games maker

Rockstar North Rockstar North (Rockstar Games UK Limited; formerly DMA Design Limited) is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Edinburgh. The studio is best known for creating the ''Lemmings'' and ''Grand Theft Auto'' series ...

, of Grand Theft Auto fame, signed the lease, causing Johnston Press group to move out in June 2014. Johnston Press have downsized to refurbished premises at Orchard Brae House in Queensferry Road, Edinburgh, a move which was quoted as saving the group £1million per annum in rent. The newspaper backed a 'No' vote in the referendum on Scottish independence. In November 2018, Johnston Press filed for

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. Shortly after filing for administration, the company was bought out by

JPIMedia National World is a British multimedia company based in Leeds, England. The company was founded and listed on the London Stock Exchange in September 2019 as a media takeover vehicle. In January 2021, it acquired JPIMedia for £10.2 million. I ...

, a company which was bought by former ''Daily Mirror'' executive David Montgomery's new National World group in 2020. In July 2023 an extra 52 years were added to the archive alongside the previous archives (1951–2002).

Editors

:1817: William Ritchie :1817:

:1818:

:1843:

John Hill Burton John Hill Burton FRSE (22 August 1809 – 10 August 1881) was a Scottish advocate, historian and economist. The author of ''Life and Correspondence of David Hume'', he was secretary of the Scottish Prison Board (1854–77), and Historiogra ...

(acting) :1846:

Alexander Russel Alexander Russel (or sometimes Russell) FRSE (1814–1876) was a Scottish newspaper editor, who spent nearly 30 years as the editor of ''The Scotsman''. Early life Russel was born on 10 December 1814 in Edinburgh; his father, a solicitor an ...

:1876: Robert Wallace :1880:

Charles Alfred Cooper Charles Alfred Cooper FRSE LLD (16 September 1829 – 14 April 1916) was an English newspaper editor and author. In 1894 he co-founded the Walter Scott Club. Life He was born in Kingston upon Hull, Hull on 16 September 1829, the son of Charle ...

:1905: John Pettigrew Croal :1924:

George A. Waters George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

:1944: James Murray Watson :1955: John Buchanan (acting) :1956: Alastair Dunnett :1972: Eric MacKay :1985: Chris Baur :1988:

Magnus Linklater Magnus Duncan Linklater, CBE (born 21 February 1942) is a Scottish journalist, writer, and former newspaper editor. Early life and education Linklater was born in Orkney, and is the son of Scottish writer Eric Linklater and arts campaigner Marj ...

:1994: Andrew Jaspan :1995: James Seaton :1997: Martin Clarke :1998: Alan Ruddock :2000:

Tim Luckhurst Timothy Colin Harvey Luckhurst (born 8 January 1963) is a British journalist and academic, currently principal of South College of Durham University and an associate pro-vice-chancellor. Between 2007 and 2019 he was professor of Journalism at th ...

:2000: Rebecca Hardy :2001: Iain Martin :2004:

John McGurk John McGurk (17 September 1874 – 22 November 1944) was a British people, British coal miner and trade unionist. Born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, McGurk grew up in Pendlebury, Lancashire, and began working at a coal mine aged 12. ...

:2006: Mike Gilson :2009: John McLellan :2012: Ian Stewart :2017: Frank O'Donnell :2020: Euan McGrory :2021: Neil McIntosh :2024:

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British-born actor. Young is best known for portraying Wilbur Post in the television comedy '' Mister Ed'' (1961–1966) and voicing Disney's Scrooge McDuck for over ...

References

External links

*
''The Scotsman'' Digital Archive 1817–1950

Johnston Press

Comprehensive Design Architects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scotsman, The 1817 establishments in Scotland 19th century in Scotland Mass media in Edinburgh Newspapers published in Scotland Newspapers with Scottish Gaelic content Publications established in 1817 Newspapers published by Johnston Press British news websites

History

Editors

See also

References

Further reading

External links