London:
Guardian Media Group said on Friday it had agreed to sell the Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, to online news company Tortoise Media, ignoring a strike by staff.
The announcement by GMG and its owners comes despite a 48-hour strike this week by more than 500 reporters from the daily Guardian and Observer newspapers in opposition to the deal.
“Guardian Media Group’s board of directors and its owner, the Scott Trust, have approved in principle the sale of Observer to Tortoise Media,” it said in a statement.
He added: “The new ownership model will protect the Observer’s future by championing the voice of liberal values and investing in outstanding journalism.”
Tortoise, a media specializing in “slow news” founded in 2019, has told GMG it will buy the publication and spend £25 million ($32 million) on “editorial and commercial revamp of the title” over the next five years. He made an offer to invest more than that amount.
Union staff last month condemned Scott Trust’s “betrayal” over the sale and voted 93% in favor of strike action.
Guardian News & Media editor-in-chief Katherine Viner said in a statement on Friday: “We know how worrying this period has been for Observer staff, but we are confident we have agreed the best way forward. “I am doing so,” he said.
Tortoise, run by former BBC news director James Harding, plans to continue publishing the Observer on Sundays, combining it with its own podcast and live events.
The origins of this weekly magazine date back to 1791.
GMG chief executive Anna Bateson said: “This investment preserves the Observer’s 233-year heritage and secures its future.”
Following the deal, which is expected to be signed in the coming days, Scott Trust will invest in Tortoise Media and become one of its largest shareholders, the statement added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
