(UK-Commonwealth) The parent company of The Guardian has declared that it is formally in talks with Tortoise Media on the possible sale of the Observer, which is the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world.
Upon receiving an offer that warranted further examination, Guardian Media Group (GMG) informed its employees that it was in exclusive talks with Tortoise.
Even though many of the details of the conversations were still commercially sensitive, the business stated that it had made the decision to be open and honest about the negotiations.
The offer from Tortoise, according to Observer staff, signifies a substantial investment in the game as a stand-alone product that will help secure its future.
“This is an important strategic option for the Guardian Media Group,” stated Anna Bateson, CEO of the Guardian Media Group. It offers an opportunity to strengthen the Observer’s position going forward with a sizable investment and frees up the Guardian to concentrate on its expansion plan to become more globally distributed, digitally advanced, and reader-funded.
This has the potential to be highly beneficial for both the Observer and the Guardian, according to Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of The Guardian. My top goal is for both titles to prosper in the future and keep providing our readers with excellent journalism. With the Observer’s stellar journalistic reputation, devoted readership, and history as the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, I find it vitally crucial that it is under capable management.
The Guardian Media Group purchased the 1791-founded Observer in 1993. Since then, it has coexisted alongside the Guardian, which will continue to run digitally seven days a week, no matter how the talks turn out.
James Harding, the former director of news at the BBC and editor of the London Times, along with Matthew Barzun, the former US ambassador to the UK, started Tortoise in 2019.
In a statement, Tortoise said that it will keep the Observer published on Sundays and develop the digital version, integrating it with its podcasts, mailings, and live events. It stated that over the following five years, it intended to invest over £25 million in the title.
Editor of Tortoise, Harding, stated: “We consider the Observer to be among the biggest names in news.” We have a strong belief in its future, both digitally and in print. We will respect the ideals and guidelines established during the Guardian’s outstanding leadership and continue the Observer’s unwavering dedication to journalistic integrity, editorial independence, and fact-based reporting.
Like its countless, devoted readers, we value the Observer’s unique, unapologetically thought-provoking reporting, its power and heart, and its passion for cuisine, music, movies, and the arts. We’re happy to demonstrate to readers, both new and old, that the Observer remains “the enemy of nonsense,” as George Orwell once put it.
The disclosure came from GMG concurrent with the release of statutory accounts demonstrating that its principal subsidiary, Guardian News and Media, had increased global revenue from digital readers by 8% to £88.2 million during the 2023–24 fiscal year.
The organization has prioritized growing money from digital readers in recent years, concentrating on worldwide expansion and reader funding while maintaining free journalism for anyone on its website.
According to GMG, the overall revenue figure of £257.8m in the accounts was 2.5% lower than the previous year. This decline was attributed to a downturn in advertising revenues globally and ongoing structural constraints on the company’s print division.
It reported a net operating cash outflow of £36.5 million, which it said was due to planned investments in technology and products, such as the new Guardian Feast cooking app, as well as planned investments in Guardian US and a new Guardian Europe edition to increase global reach and impact.
Since its soft debut in April, the app has been downloaded more than 100,000 times, according to a July statement from Liz Wynn, the Guardian’s chief supporter officer.
The Observer’s print sales have decreased, much like those of the whole newspaper business. In 2021, it had 136,656 copies in circulation. After that, GMG ceased to release ABC sales information.
Its web material and the Guardian’s are tightly interwoven. In addition to developing The Observer digitally and integrating it with Tortoise’s podcasts, mailings, and live events, Tortoise said that it will keep publishing The Observer on Sundays.