Guardian Journalists Strike Over Potential Sale of Sister Paper The Observer

variety.com:

K.J. Yossman Journalists from The Guardian and The Observer have gone on strike for 48-hours in protest over a potential sale of the latter.

The Observer is The Guardian’s sister paper, which comes out weekly on Sundays. First published in 1791, it now has around 70 journalists working on it and includes magazine supplements such as The Observer Magazine and The Observer Food Monthly.

It emerged earlier this year that the Scott Trust is considering a sale of The Observer to the relatively nascent Tortoise Media, which was founded in 2019 by editor James Harding as a longform journalism and podcast platform.

The news has caused consternation in the U.K., with leading figures including Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant and Ralph Fiennes signing an open letter decrying the deal, which they described as “disastrous.” The Observer’s longtime editor Paul Webster, who retired last month, also criticized the sale, saying it would “severly damage the reputation of the Scott Trust and threaten the future of the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper.” In a leaflet titled “Save the Observer,” which is being handed out by those striking, it says that journalists are striking “to defend liberal journalism by oppising the Observer’s sale to a loss-making digital startup where it will be put behind a paywall.” It goes on to claim Tortoise has never recorded a profit and between 2018 and 2022 lost £16 million ($20.2 million).