It is a print media outlet that has been published since 1791. It is now owned by the British company Guardian Media Group (GMG).
The Guardian has announced the sale of the world’s longest-running Sunday newspaper.
The British company Guardian Media Group (GMG), owner of the newspaper The Guardianannounced that it has begun negotiations to put up for sale “The Observer“, the oldest Sunday publication in the world. The buyer will be Tortoise Mediaa news website founded in 2019.
GMG, which has owned the paper since 1993, surprised everyone with its announcement, without specifying the amount expected for the sale of the Sunday paper. The director of the British company, Anna Bateson, assured that the sale will allow the paper to The Guardian “focus on your growth strategy to become more international, more digital and financed above all by its readers“.
The sale of The Observer, the world’s longest-running Sunday paper
In an internal memo to employees, executives at the UK-based company reported that Tortoise had made them an offer “convincing” to buy The Observer. The 70 or so employees of the Sunday publication were informed of the negotiations on Tuesday.
According to GMG executives, the sale of the Sunday newspaper will allow the company focus even more on international expansion. On the possible sale, Bateson said: “This will allow The Guardian to focus on its growth strategy to be More global, more digital and more reader-funded”.
The acquiring company will be Tortoise Media, a website founded in 2019. James Hardingthe company’s editor-in-chief, said: “We believe that The Observer is one of the Big names in the world of information. We believe in its future, both in print and digital versions.“.
The future owners of the long-standing Sunday restaurant assured that they plan to invest up to $33 million in The Observer over the next five years. Tortoise Media will thus seek to develop the newspaper’s digital operations while maintaining the Sunday print edition.
The newspaper with more than 200 years of history
Founded in 1791 by WS Bourne, The Observer It stands as Britain’s oldest Sunday newspaper. Its first publication took place on 4 December 1941 and it thus became the the world’s first Sunday newspaper.
Since June 1993, the newspaper has been part of the Guardian Media Group. Among its milestones, in 2007 it was declared a National Newspaper of the Year at the 2007 British Press Awards.
On the future of the publication, Tortoise editor Harding said: “We believe The Observer is one of the great names in news. We believe passionately in its future, both in print and online. We will honour the values and standards established under the great stewardship of The Guardian and maintain the The Observer’s unwavering commitment to editorial independence, evidence-based reporting and journalistic integrity“.
Source: Ambito
