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{{Infobox Newspaper |
name = The Independent |
image = [[Image:Current Indy.jpg|border|Front page]] |
caption = The current front page layout of The Independent |
type = Daily [[newspaper]] |
format = [[Compact (newspaper)|Compact]] |
foundation = 1986 |
owners = [[Independent News & Media]] |
political = [[Liberalism|Liberal]] / [[Centrism|Centre Left]]<!--Please do not change this without first discussing it on the talk page-->|

[[Pound sterling|£]]0.80 <small>(Monday-Friday)</small><br/>[[Pound sterling|£]]1.40 <small>(Saturday)</small><br/>[[Pound sterling|£]]1.80 <small>(Sunday)</small> |
headquarters = [[Canary Wharf]],<br>[[London]], [[UK]] |
editor = Daily - [[Roger Alton]], Sunday - [[John Mullin]] |
website = [http://www.independent.co.uk/ www.independent.co.uk] |
circulation = 243,398<ref name="abc1">{{cite news
| last = Tryhorn
| first = Chris
| title = April ABCS - Financial Times dips for second month
| publisher = Guardian.co.uk
| date = 9 May 2008
| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/09/abcs.pressandpublishing1
| accessdate = 2008-05-24}}</ref> <small>(Monday-Friday)</small><br>225,403<ref>{{cite news
| last = Brook
| first = Stephen
| title = April ABCS - Monthly gains for two Sunday qualities
| publisher = Guardian.co.uk
| date = 9 May 2008
| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/09/abcs.pressandpublishing2
| accessdate = 2008-05-24}}</ref> <small>(Sunday)</small>
}}
'''''The Independent''''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Compact (newspaper)|compact]] [[newspaper]] published by [[Tony O'Reilly]]'s [[Independent News & Media]]. It is nicknamed the ''Indy'', with the Sunday edition, ''The Independent on Sunday'', being the ''Sindy''. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily newspapers, with a circulation of 240,503 in May 2008 according to the UK [[Audited Bureau of Circulations]]. The Sunday edition has bucked its trend of faring worse than its daily sister; up 1.63% in the last nine months to August 2007 at 216,371, and at May 2008 a readership of 200,920. The first rise for a considerable time would seem to reflect a buoying effect of the June 2007 relaunch. The daily edition was named ''National Newspaper of the Year'' at the 2004 [[British Press Awards]]. The Independent is politically left-leaning.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/12/08/papers_ed3_.php U.K. paper follows rivals into tabloid format: At The Times, size matters], [[International Herald Tribune]], December 8, 2003.</ref>

==History==
===Creation in 1986===
{{unreferencedsection|date=November 2008}}
''The Independent'' is the youngest of the current British "compact" newspapers, first published on 7 October 1986 as a broadsheet. It was produced by [[Newspaper Publishing Ltd.]] and created by [[Andreas Whittam Smith]], [[Stephen Glover (journalist)|Stephen Glover]] and [[Matthew Symonds]]. All three were former journalists at ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' who had left the paper towards the end of [[Michael Berry, Baron Hartwell|Lord Hartwell]]'s ownership. [[Marcus Sieff]] was the first chairman of Newspaper Publishing and Whittam Smith took control of the paper.

The paper was created at a time of considerable tension in British journalism. [[Rupert Murdoch]] was challenging long accepted practices and was fighting with the print unions. In this unsettled atmosphere the newly created paper was able to attract staff from the Murdoch broadsheets, who chose to jump ship rather than move to [[Wapping]].

Launched with the advertising slogan "It is. Are you?", and challenging ''[[The Guardian]]'' for its politically centre-left readers, and ''[[The Times]]'' as a 'newspaper of record', it reached a circulation of over 400,000 in 1989. Competing for readers in a moribund market, the arrival of ''The Independent'' was one of the factors that sparked both a general freshening of newspaper design as well as a costly 'price war'. The market was very tight, and when ''The Independent'' launched an independent Sunday edition in 1990, sales were less than anticipated. Some aspects of production were consequently merged with the main paper, although Sunday publication did continue with a largely distinct editorial staff.

In the 1990s, ''The Independent'' started an advertising campaign, accusing its rivals, ''[[The Times]]'' and ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' of reflecting the views of their respective proprietors, [[Rupert Murdoch]] and [[Conrad Black]]. It featured spoofs of their [[Masthead (publishing)|mastheads]] with the words 'THE RUPERT MURDOCH', 'The Conrad Black', and below, 'THE INDEPENDENT'.

===Financial problems===
By the 1990s it became clear that the parent company, Newspaper Publishing, was suffering financial difficulties. Several other newspapers launched in the 1980s (the ''[[Sunday Correspondent]]'' being one example) had swiftly collapsed without establishing a large enough base of loyal readers to ensure profitability, and ''The Independent'' was experiencing similar problems. Two European media groups soon took small stakes in the company. A number of other media companies were interested in the paper for a number of reasons. Both [[Tony O'Reilly|Sir Tony O Reilly]]'s media group and [[Mirror Group Newspapers]] developed substantial stakes in the company by mid 1994. In March 1995 Newspaper Publishing was restructured with a rights issue, splitting the shareholding into [[Independent News & Media]] (43%), [[MGN]] (43%), and [[PRISA|Prisa]] (''[[El Pais]]'', 12%). In the same month, Whittam Smith left the paper.{{Fact|date=November 2008}}

In April 1996 there was another refinancing and in March 1998 O'Reilly bought out the other 54% of the company for £30 million, and assumed the company's debt. Brendan Hopkins headed Independent News while [[Andrew Marr]] was appointed editor of ''The Independent'' and [[Rosie Boycott]] of ''The Independent on Sunday''. Marr introduced a dramatic if short-lived redesign which won some critical favour, but was largely a commercial failure, partly as a result of a limited promotional budget. (Marr has since admitted his changes were foolhardy in his semi-autobiographical work ''My Trade''.){{Fact|date=November 2008}}

Boycott left in April 1998 (to ''[[The Daily Express]]'') and Marr in May 1998 (later to join the [[BBC]] as its Political Editor). [[Simon Kelner]] was made the new editor. By this time the circulation of the paper had fallen to below 200,000. Independent News spent heavily to improve circulation and the paper underwent a number of redesigns. While circulation improved it did not approach the 1989 figures or restore the paper to profitability and the job cuts and tight financial controls took their toll on the journalists and their morale. Ivan Fallon, on the board since 1995 and once a key figure at the ''Sunday Times'', replaced Hopkins as head of Independent News & Media in July 2002. By mid 2004, the newspaper was still losing £5million a year. A gradual improvement has meant that by 2006, with circulation at a nine year high, profitability is expected soon.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lelic|first=Sarah|url=http://www.mad.co.uk/Logon/ArticleLogon.aspx?uiArticleID=ef7c2624-7002-45f7-96ed-21a040523aef&uiNavigationItemID=&uiPageID=8453a00f-9d1a-404a-beda-339905b6b8b4&PipelinedPage=/Main/News/Articlex/ef7c2624700245f796ed21a040523aef/INM-eyes-emIndependentem-profit.html&PipelinedQueryString=uiArticleID%3def7c2624-7002-45f7-96ed-21a040523aef%26uiNavigationItemID%3dd8f9fd23-813a-47b2-9696-31d9ca23a265%26|title=INM eyes Independent profit|publisher=mad.co.uk|date=[[2006-09-19]]}}</ref>

===Format changes===
{{verify|date=November 2008}}
''The Independent'' was originally published in [[broadsheet]] form, but from September 2003 was produced in a choice of broadsheet and [[tabloid]] forms, with the same content in each. The tabloid version was termed by the newspaper "[[Compact (newspaper)|compact]]", to distance itself from the racy, down-market publications usually associated with the term "tabloid". The smaller format was rolled out gradually throughout the UK. [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s ''[[The Times|Times]]'' followed suit, introducing its own "compact" version. Prior to these changes, ''The Independent'' had a daily circulation of around 217,500, the lowest of any major national British daily newspaper, climbing to claim a 15% rise in circulation by March 2004 (taking it to circa 250,000). Throughout much of 2006, circulation generally stagnated at the quarter of a million mark. On 14 May 2004, ''The Independent'' produced its last weekday broadsheet edition, having stopped producing a Saturday broadsheet edition in January. The ''Sindie'' (Independent on Sunday) published its last simultaneous broadsheet edition on 9 October 2005, and has since also followed a "compact" design.

On 12 April 2005, ''The Independent'' unveiled a 'radical redesign' of its layout to a more European feel, somewhat similar to France's ''[[Libération]]''. (The redesign was carried out by a [[Barcelona]] design studio.) The weekday second section was subsumed within the body of the main paper, double-page feature articles became common in the main news pages, and there were revisions to both front and back covers. It has spent over [[Pound sterling|£]]1,000,000 on promotion.

On 25 April 2006, a new second section, ''Extra'' was introduced. It is similar to ''The Guardian's G2'' and ''The Times' Times2'', containing features, [[reportage]] and games, including [[Sudoku]].

On 23 September 2008 the newspaper became a full colour newspaper.

On 28 November 2008, following on from steep staff cutbacks, a move of production to Northcliffe House, headquarters of [[Associated Newspapers Ltd|Associated Newspapers]], was announced.<ref name="Northcliffe move">{{cite web|year = 2008|url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/nov/28/independent-titles-associated-newspapers-northcliffe-house|title = Independent titles to relocate to Associated Newspapers HQ|publisher = [[Guardian Unlimited]]|accessdate = 2008-11-28}}</ref> The two newspaper groups' editorial, management and commercial operations will remain separate but they will share support services including security, IT services, switchboard and payroll.

==Political Stance==
[[Image:Independent281006.gif|thumb|300px|Front page of ''The Independent'', [[Robert Fisk]] reported evidence that Israel might have used a "secret new uranium-based weapon" during the [[2006 Lebanon War]].<ref name="Uranium"/>]]

While ''The Independent'' claims to represent contrasting political opinions, hosting right-wing columnists such as [[Bruce Anderson]] and [[Dominic Lawson]], its politics are considered by some to be the most left-wing of any national British daily. A [[MORI]] Poll taken between April-June 2000 showed that 60% of ''Independent'' readers were Labour Party voters.<ref>Cited in [[International Socialism (journal)| International Socialism]], Spring 2003, ISBN 1-898876-97-5</ref> A 2004 poll by [[MORI]] showed that 39% of its readers were Liberal Democrat voters whilst 36% supported [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]].<ref>[http://www.mori.com/polls/2004/voting-by-readership.shtml Mori poll]</ref>{{dead link|date=November 2008}}

In recent years, it has often had critical, editorial-style front page spreads on [[George W. Bush]], [[Tony Blair]], and Israeli government policies. In a 2006 article [[Robert Fisk]] reported soil sample evidence that Israel might have used a "secret new uranium-based weapon" during the [[2006 Lebanon War]].<ref name="Uranium">Robert Fisk, [http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-mystery-of-israels-secret-uranium-bomb-421960.html Robert Fisk: Mystery of Israel's secret uranium bomb; Alarm over radioactive legacy left by attack on Lebanon], The Independent, October 28, 2006.</ref> [[United Nations]] and [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] (IAEA) experts determined that as of February 2007 there was no evidence of depleted-uranium-ammunitions.<ref>Eric Silver in Jerusalem, [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/un-investigates-israels-uranium-weapons-422210.html UN investigates Israel's 'uranium weapons'], The Independent, October 30, 2006.</ref><ref>Nour Samaha, [http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=79896# Panel finds 'no evidence' Israel used depleted uranium in 2006 war; Unanimous findings says levels are consistent with natural occurrence], Lebanon Daily Star, February 27, 2007.</ref>

The Independent has recently run campaigns for [[electoral reform]] and against the introduction of [[British national identity card|ID cards]] and the restriction of mass migration into the UK. Originally, ''The Independent'' has consciously avoided Royal stories; Whittam Smith once commented that he did this to protect the institution rather than out of [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|republican]] motives. The newspaper still gives comparatively little attention to the [[British monarchy]].{{Fact|date=November 2008}}

''The Independent'' sponsors [[The Longford Prize]], named in memory of [[Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford|Lord Longford]].{{Fact|date=November 2008}}

''The Independent'' is frequently satirised, particularly by ''[[Private Eye]]'' for its front pages, often dominated by statistics on specific political issues or an expressly politicised leader article, rather than more traditional news and photographs. ''Private Eye'' has in the past referred to ''The Independent'' as ''The Indescribablyboring'' or ''The Irrelevant''.{{Fact|date=November 2008}}

In 2007 [[Alan Rusbridger]], the editor of the [[The Guardian]], said of the Independent: "The emphasis on views, not news, means that the reporting is rather thin, and it loses impact on the front page the more you do that."<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/what-happened-when-the-guardian-editor-met-piers-morgan-442870.html What happened when the Guardian editor met Piers Morgan], [[The Guardian]], April 2, 2007.</ref> In a June 12, 2007 speech British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] called ''The Independent'' a "viewspaper", saying The Independent "was started as an antidote to the idea of journalism as views not news. That was why it was called the Independent. Today it is avowedly a viewspaper not merely a newspaper.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6744581.stm Full text: Blair on the media], BBC News, 12 June 2007</ref> ''The Independent'' criticized Blair's comments on its front page the next day.{{Fact|date=November 2008}}

On 23 January 2008, ''The Independent'' successfully relaunched its online edition [http://www.independent.co.uk independent.co.uk].<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/service/welcome-to-the-independents-new-website-771573.html Full text: Welcome to The Independent's new website], The Independent, 23 January 2008</ref> Generally seen as a critical and commercial success,<ref>[http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/530956.php Full text: Independent unveils revamped website], Journalism.co.uk, 23 January 2008</ref> the relaunch introduced a radical new look, better access to the popular blog service, priority on image and video content and a range of additional areas of the site including Art & Architecture, Fashion, Gadgets & Tech and Health & Wellbeing. The paper has also launched [[Podcast]] programmes such as The Independent Music Radio Show, The Independent Travel Guides, The Independent Sailing Podcasts, and The Independent Video Travel Guides.

====The (RED) Independent====
''The Independent'' has recently shown support for [[U2]] lead singer [[Bono]]'s [[Product RED]] brand by creating an edition of the newspaper called ''The (RED) Independent'', an occasional edition of the paper that gives half of the day's proceeds to the charity.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vallely|first=Paul|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article484149.ece|title=A red revolution on the high street|publisher=The Independent|date=[[2006-05-15]]}}</ref> The first edition was printed in May 2006. Edited by Bono, it drew high sales.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsdesigner.com/archives/002543.php|title=They found what they were looking for|publisher=NewsDesigner.com|date=[[2006-05-23]]}}</ref>

A September 2006 edition of ''The RED Independent'', designed by fashion designer [[Giorgio Armani]], drew controversy due to its cover shot, showing model [[Kate Moss]] dressed in [[blackface]] for an article about [[AIDS]] in [[Africa]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Pool|first=Hannah|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/race/story/0,,1878483,00.html|title=Return to the dark ages|publisher=[[The Guardian]]|date=[[2006-09-22]]}}</ref>

==Sections==
[[Image:Indytraveller.png|thumb|right|The Independent Traveller.]]
Following newspaper trends, the Saturday and Sunday editions of ''The Independent'' provide a considerably more substantial read, constituting a considerable bulk, published as they are with a host of regular supplements and pull-out subsections. The four- and five-part publications, respectively, consist in addition to the main paper of:{{Fact|date=November 2008}}

{|
|-valign=top
|width=50%|
Daily Monday to Friday "'''The Independent'''"
*"Independent Life" - A new feature section (September 2008) with its infamous 'Ten Best' also including television schedules, film and theatre reviews.
*"Education" - Pull-out section with an emphasis on schools, also information on Graduate, Post-Graduate life and UCAS features.
*Saturday's '''''The Independent'''''
*''The Information'' - A compact, primarily [[listings magazine]], including [[television]] schedules, [[film]] and [[DVD]] reviews and events listings for the coming week. It also includes a round-up of the "50 best" items in a particular category. For example over the [[Christmas]] period there are weekly supplements of 'Gifts for him' and 'Gifts for her'
*''The Independent Traveller'' - Contains travel articles, advertisements etc.
*''The Independent Magazine'' - This supplement is compiled information of weekly events including weather, gossip, lesser known news etc. This section also features sections on food, interiors, fashion etc.
|width=50%|
'''''The Independent on Sunday'''''
*''Business & Money'' - the self-contained financial section incorporating share and stock market details, personal finance and media news.
*''The Compact Traveller'' - the travelling supplement consisting of family holidaying columns, a holiday Q&A page, and special regional features.
*''ABC'' - the magazine standing for "Arts, Books & Culture", consisting of reviews of all media and entertainment forms and interviews with sector personalities.
*''The Sunday Review'' - a substantial, slightly wider magazine encompassing special [[reportage]] features, regular columns, and sections spanning lifestyle, fashion, gardening and motoring.
|}
*The Independent on Sunday relaunched on 3 June in two sections - a main paper including news, comment, business, sport, travel and a magazine - The New Review

==Editors==
{|width=100%
|-valign=top
|width=50%|
'''''The Independent'''''
*[[Andreas Whittam Smith]] (1986 &ndash; 1994)
*[[Ian Hargreaves]] (1994 &ndash; 1995)
*[[Charles Wilson (journalist)|Charles Wilson]] (1995 &ndash; 1996)
*[[Andrew Marr]] (1996 &ndash; January 1998)
*[[Rosie Boycott]] (January 1998 &ndash; March 1998)
*[[Andrew Marr]] & [[Rosie Boycott]] (March 1998 &ndash; May 1998)
*[[Simon Kelner]] (May 1998 &ndash; April 2008)
*[[Roger Alton]] (April 2008 &ndash; present)
|width=50%|
'''''The Independent on Sunday'''''
*[[Stephen Glover (journalist)|Stephen Glover]] (1990 &ndash; 1991)
*[[Ian Jack]] (1991 &ndash; 1995)
*[[Peter Wilby (UK journalist)|Peter Wilby]] (1995 &ndash; 1996)
*[[Rosie Boycott]] (1996 &ndash; 1998)
*[[Kim Fletcher]] (1998 &ndash; 1999)
*[[Janet Street-Porter]] (1999 &ndash; 2002)
*[[Tristan Davies]] (2002 &ndash; 2007)
*[[John Mullin]] (2007 &ndash; present)
|}

There have also been various guest editors over the years, such as the Body Shop's [[Anita Roddick]] on 19 June 2003 and U2's Bono in 2006.

==Writers and columnists==
{|width=100%
|-valign=top
|width=33%|
Predominantly '''''The Independent'''''
* [[Yasmin Alibhai-Brown]]
* [[Bruce Anderson]]
* [[Bono]]
* [[Cooper Brown]]
* [[Michael Brown (UK politician)|Michael Brown]]
* [[Simon Calder]]
* [[Tracey Emin]]
* [[Helen Fielding]]
* [[Robert Fisk]]
* [[Johann Hari]]
* [[Howard Jacobson]]
* [[Alex James (musician)|Alex James]]
* [[Peter Jenkins (journalist)|Peter Jenkins]]
* [[Andrew Keen]]
* [[Mark Oaten]]
|width=33%|
* [[Miles Kington]]
* [[Dominic Lawson]]
* [[John Lichfield]]
* [[Rhodri Marsden]]
* [[Jan McGirk]]
* [[Tracey MacLeod]]
* [[Deborah Orr]]
* [[Peter Popham]]
* [[Steve Richards]]
* [[Alexei Sayle]]
* [[Will Self]]
* [[Andreas Whittam Smith]]
* [[Mark Steel]]
* [[Catherine Townsend]]
* [[Paul Vallely]]
* [[Claudia Winkleman]]
* [[Matthew Norman]]
|width=50%|

Predominantly '''''The Independent on Sunday'''''
* [[Janet Street-Porter|Janet Street-Porter ("Editor-At-Large")]]
* [[Joan Smith (novelist and journalist)|Joan Smith]] - '''Comment & Debate'''
* [[John Rentoul]] - '''Comment & Debate'''
* [[Alan Watkins]] - '''Comment & Debate'''
* [[Patrick Cockburn]] - '''Comment & Debate'''
* [[David Cameron]] - Periodically in '''Comment & Debate'''
* [[Cole Moreton]] - '''News Analysis''' (Regular double-spread)
* [[Peter Cole]] - ''"On The Press"''
* [[David Randall]] & [[Tim Minogue]] - ''"Observatory"''
* [[Rupert Cornwell]] - ''"Out of America"''
* [[Dom Joly]] - ''"First Up"'' in The Sunday Review
* [[Hermione Eyre]] - Multitude of reviews in ABC
* [[Anna Picard]] - Opera and Classical
|}

== Notable photographers ==
*[[Timothy Allen]]
*Jonathan Evans
*Brian Harris
*Tom Pilston
*David Rose
*David Sandison

==In popular culture==
In [[Nigel Williams (author)|Nigel Williams]]' book ''[[Scenes from a Poisoner's Life]]'', the only newspaper allowed in the house of Henry Farr (the main protagonist) by his wife Elinor is ''The Independent on Sunday''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.independent.co.uk/ Website of the newspaper "The Independent"]

{{UK newspapers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Independent, The}}
[[Category:Companies established in 1986]]
[[Category:Newspapers published in the United Kingdom]]

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Revision as of 08:25, 2 December 2008

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