One of Britain’s most loved and innovative newspapers have announced that they will be moving all content online next month as the digital age changes the face of the media.
The Independent newspaper has earned a dedicated readership over the past 30 years for its campaigning voice in the UK and quality level of journalism.
However, with the continued rise of online-only publications, including the Huffington Post and BuzzFeed, revenues from print advertising fell by 10 per cent in 2015.
The profitable i paper, which was circulating at daily figures of 275,000 compared to the Independent’s 40,000, was also sold earlier this month to Johnston Press for £24million.
This left the Independent’s parent company, ESI Media, turning their attention to an online future.
A memo sent to staff on Friday said: “As our staff costs are by far our biggest overhead, one outcome of the budgeting process may be that redundancies are proposed.”
About 25 journalists from The Independent newspaper will be offered jobs on the site, while another 40 are expected to join i’s existing staff of 17.
Evgeny Lebedev told the Financial Times: “The Independent has always been a pioneering newspaper with a record of innovation,” adding “the newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers. They’re showing us that the future is digital.”
Reaction to the newspaper’s print closure was also sympathetic on social media.
ITV political editor, Robert Peston, wrote on his Twitter account: “Closure of @Independent as print title is heart-rending, terrible. Such an important paper in its day” whilst television presenter Susanna Reed added: “Whether you bought it or read it, the closure of The Independent/IoS & move to online-only feels like a big moment for all journalism.”
