i (newspaper)

The i is a British national newspaper published in London by Daily Mail and General Trust and distributed across the United Kingdom. It is aimed at "readers and lapsed readers" of all ages and commuters with limited time, and was originally launched in 2010 as a sister paper to The Independent.[6][7][8] It was later acquired by Johnston Press in 2016 after The Independent shifted to a digital-only model.[9] The i came under the control of JPIMedia a day after Johnston Press filed for administration on 16 November 2018.[10] The paper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million.[2] On 6 December 2019 the Competition and Markets Authority served an initial enforcement order on DMGT and DMG Media Limited, requiring the paper to be run separately pending investigation.[11]

For the newspaper based in Lisbon, see i (Portuguese newspaper).

i
Front page of i
Front page of the first edition of the i on 26 October 2010
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatCompact
Owner(s)Independent Digital News & Media Ltd (2010–2016)
Johnston Press (2016–2018)[1]
JPIMedia (2018–2019)
Daily Mail and General Trust (2019–present)[2]
PublisherIndependent Digital News & Media Ltd (2010–2016)
Johnston Press (2016–2018)
JPIMedia (2018–2019)
Daily Mail and General Trust (2019–present)
EditorOliver Duff[3]
Founded26 October 2010 (2010-10-26)
Political alignmentImpartiality
HeadquartersNorthcliffe House, London, England
Circulation131,562 (as of July 2023)[4][5]
Websiteinews.co.uk

Since its inception, the i has expanded its layout and coverage, adding special sections for notable events and revamping its weekend edition. The paper had an average daily circulation of 302,757 in March 2013,[12] significantly more than The Independent, though that figure has since continued to decline, and had dropped to 233,869 by February 2019.[13] The paper is classified as a 'quality' in the UK market but is published in the standard compact tabloid-size format.

History

Founding

A press statement released on the website of The Independent on 19 October 2010 announced the launch of the i. Also in October 2010, Independent Print Limited launched an advertising campaign to promote the new publication. The first issue of the i went on sale for 20p on 26 October 2010, along with a new-look version of The Independent.[8]

Starting on 7 May 2011 a Saturday edition was published, with more pages and at the price of 30p. This increased to 40p in January 2014, with the weekday edition rising to 30p. In September 2016, the price was raised to 60p, with the weekday edition rising to 50p.[14]

At the start of September 2017, the price rose once again, to 60p for the weekday edition and 80p for the relaunched i weekend beginning later that month. The paper cited the rising cost of materials needed to print the paper and the increasingly difficult environment in which print journalism finds itself.[15]

2016–2018

On 11 February 2016, it was revealed that regional publisher Johnston Press, which owned The Yorkshire Post and The Scotsman, were in the advanced stages of talks to buy the i for around £24 million.[16] The acquisition was completed before The Independent became a digital-only publication, and a "significant number" of staff joined the team from The Independent.[17] The new editorial team was announced in April 2016[18] and moved one floor down in Northcliffe House.

On 30 September 2017, a new, redesigned, version of the weekend edition of the i went on sale, costing 80p. This relaunch of the weekend paper saw circulation rise by around 30,000, to around 290,000 of the first edition of the redesigned paper being sold. By August 2018, the weekend edition had become the strongest day of trading for the i.[19]

In December 2017, the owners of the i, Johnston Press, announced the newspaper was bringing in a monthly profit of around £1 million.[20] They stated that this was the result of: "Johnston Press management's strategy of investing in improved content under editor Olly Duff's clear leadership, increased brand awareness, distribution, and advertiser solutions, while delivering efficiencies".[21] A February 2018 trading update from parent company Johnston Press stated that the paper held a 20% market share of the 'Quality' weekday market.[22]

The i website, inews.co.uk, was reported to attract around two million unique viewers at the start of 2018,[21] but that figure had grown 457% by November, with Comscore reporting unique visitors to the website then stood at 5.2 million, surpassing the reach of The Times and Huffington Post UK.[23]

2018

In November 2018, ownership of the i alongside the other assets of Johnston Press were transferred in a pre-packaged administration deal to JPIMedia, a company set up by the bondholders of Johnston Press, after several attempts to restructure the debt or sell the business were unsuccessful.

2019–present

On 14 September 2019, The iweekend price rose from £1 to £1.20.[24]

On 29 November 2019, it was announced that JPIMedia had sold the i newspaper and website to the Daily Mail and General Trust, which owns the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline. Lord Jonathan Harmsworth of Rothermere, the chair of DMGT, said that the paper would maintain its politically independent editorial style.[2]

In March 2021, the i broke the story that Pontins holiday parks used a list of common Irish surnames as an internal document to prevent bookings by "undesirable guests".[25]

In December 2021, DMGT announced that both i and the DMGT-owned New Scientist magazine would be moved to a new division of the company, to be called Harmsworth Media.[26][27]

Format

The i is tabloid-size and stapled, and the first issue contained 56 pages. The Friday edition of the paper, which contains the "Friday" section, has a slightly increased page count, at around 65. The weekend version of the paper is significantly larger than the weekday version, containing 87 pages. The i prides itself on having no supplements, something common in many other quality British newspapers, saying they want to give readers the best experience without supplements that "clog up" recycling bins.[15] The newspaper contains "matrices" for news, business and sports—small paragraphs of information which are expanded upon in full articles further on in the paper.[8] The title also includes a features section titled iQ, Arts and Business sections and a television guide.[8]

The managing director of The Independent stated several days before the newspaper went into print that the publication is designed for people who do not have much time to read a newspaper.[8] On 20 April 2011, editor Simon Kelner announced that a Saturday edition of the i would be published, starting from 7 May 2011 and costing 30 pence, 10 pence more than the weekday version. The paper is now 80p on weekdays and £1.50 at the weekend, running Monday to Saturday (although the Saturday edition is also sold on Sunday).[28]

The paper now runs a subscription, whereby customers can buy pre-paid vouchers to exchange for their copy of the paper. The subscription can be either six months or a year long and can be chosen Monday to Friday or including Saturday. There is also a discounted student subscription that lasts for one academic year.

Political stance

The i is known for having a neutral political stance,[29] though it has also been described as having a centre-left political outlook.[30] In 2015, the paper's editor Oliver Duff said it pursued "political impartiality".[31] In 2019 Duff said it would report "without fear or favour", with the intention of being "tougher" than the BBC on maintaining impartiality while remaining "fair" in its reporting.[32] The paper aims to present opinions from all parts of the political spectrum with the goal of encouraging its readership to form their own fact-based opinions.[33] Ahead of the 2015 general election, Duff said the paper would remain neutral and refrain from endorsing a vote for any political party.[31] In the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections, the i chose not to endorse a political party.[34][35]

Nick Clegg, former UK Deputy Prime Minister and former leader of the Liberal Democrats, a centrist party, was a fortnightly columnist for the i. His column usually features in the "My View" comment section of the paper.[36] However, he has not written for i since 2018.

During an interview for the i in December 2017, then Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn declared himself to be a dedicated reader of the i, saying that its compact size and concise articles suited his busy lifestyle as Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition.[37]

During the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, held in June 2016, the paper chose not to declare for either "leave" or "remain", unlike a majority of other British newspapers who came out for either side of the debate.[38]

Reputation

Since being named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2015 News Awards,[39] the i has also gone on to win and be shortlisted for numerous awards in the UK.

At the 2017 Press Awards, the i secured six nominations.[40] Katy Balls was a finalist alongside Stephen Bush for Political Commentary of the Year, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown for Broadsheet Columnist of the Year, Alice Jones for Critic of the Year, Steve Connor for Science Editor of the Year, Kim Sengupta for Foreign Reporter of the Year, Sam Cunningham for Sports Journalist of the Year, while the paper itself was nominated for Best News Site of the Year. At the 2017 British Sports Journalism Awards, Hugo Lowell was nominated for Young Sports Writer of the Year.[41]

At the 2018 British Media Awards, the i won Gold in the Launch of the Year category for i weekend and Editorial Campaign of the Year category for its coverage of NHS cuts. The paper were also runner-ups for Print Product of the Year and Media Brand of the Year.[42]

The i was found in a 2018 poll to be the second-most trusted news brand in the UK after The Guardian.[43] In March 2019, the i overtook The Guardian to become the most trusted digital newsbrand on-line, and third in print.[44] The two then tied as most trusted national newsbrand for their paper editions in 2020; the i was third on-line.[45]

At the 2019 British Media Awards, the i won Gold in the Media Brand of the Year category, Silver for the Digital Product of the Year, and Bronze in the Print Product of the Year category.

Editors and contributors
See also Category:i (newspaper) journalists

Editors

Regular contributors

Sport writers

References
  1. Thomas, Natalie (12 February 2016). "Johnston Press confirms £24m deal for 'i'". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  2. "Daily Mail owner buys i newspaper for £50m". BBC News. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  3. William Turvill "Amol Rajan is made editor of The Independent as Chris Blackhurst becomes group content director", Press Gazette, 17 June 2013
  4. "i". Audit Bureau of Circulations. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  5. Tobitt, Charlotte; Majid, Aisha (25 January 2023). "National press ABCs: December distribution dive for freesheets Standard and City AM". Press Gazette. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  6. Solon, Olivia (19 October 2010). "The Independent to launch 20p sister paper, 'The i'". Wired UK. Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  7. Sweney, Mark (18 October 2010). "Independent's new daily i to target 'lapsed readers of quality papers'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  8. "From today: The i - A new daily newspaper for 20p". The Independent. London. 26 October 2010. Archived from the original on 20 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  9. Stuart-Turner, Richard (24 March 2016). "Johnston Press confirms 'i' acquisition approval alongside 2015 accounts". PrintWeek. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017.
  10. "Johnston Press: publisher of i paper bought out". BBC News. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019.
  11. "DMG Media Limited / JPIMedia Publications Limited merger inquiry". Competition and Markets Authority. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 24 April 2020.
  12. "ABCs: National daily newspaper circulation March 2013". The Guardian. London. 12 April 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  13. Mayhew, Freddy (14 February 2019). "National newspaper ABCs: Mail titles see slower year-on-year circulation decline as bulk sales distortion ends". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  14. Mayhew, Freddy (7 September 2016). "Brexit blamed as i newspaper raises cover price by 10p". Press Gazette.
  15. Duff, Oliver (28 August 2017). "Future of i and quality journalism". iNews. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  16. Williams, Holly (11 February 2016). "Yorkshire Post owner in talks to buy daily newspaper i". The Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  17. "Independent to cease as print edition". BBC News. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  18. Prior, David (31 March 2016). "Johnston Press confirms editorial line-up for i newspaper". Prolific North.
  19. Mayhew, Freddy (20 August 2018). "Saturday now 'strongest' day for i paper as newstrade sales up 2.6 per cent on last year following iweekend relaunch". Press Gazette. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  20. Ponsford, Dominic (6 December 2017). "Johnston Press says it is now making £1m a month profit from i newspaper". Press Gazette. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  21. Ponsford, Dominic (6 December 2017). "Johnston Press says it is now making £1m a month profit from i newspaper". Press Gazette. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  22. "Trading Update - RNS - London Stock Exchange". www.londonstockexchange.com.
  23. Wyatt, Daisy [@daisy_wyatt] (9 January 2019). "Latest ComScore Figures, UK newsbrands" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2019 – via Twitter.
  24. Shrimpton, David (9 September 2019). "Retailers welcome i newspaper margin decision". Talking Retail. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  25. "'Undesirable' - UK holiday parks blacklisted people with Irish surnames". Reuters. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  26. "Harmsworth Media: i and New Scientist magazine launch new media division". i. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  27. "Lord Rothermere splits off i and New Scientist from Mail and Metro in new Harmsworth Media division". Press Gazette. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  28. Kelner, Simon (20 April 2011). "Letter from the editor: i on Saturday". The Independent. London.
  29. Mayhew, Freddy (29 November 2019). "The i editor defends paper's editorial integrity against Corbyn warning over new 'billionaire' owner". Press Gazette. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  30. "Black and White and Read All Over: A Guide to British Newspapers". ORA Education. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  31. Greenslade, Roy (31 March 2015). "i's editor pledges that his paper won't be backing any party". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  32. "The i at 10: editor-in-chief Oliver Duff on the paper's expectation-defying decade". The Drum. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  33. "The i invites readers to 'See Every Angle' in fresh ad campaign". The Drum. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  34. Duff, Oliver (19 April 2017). "i's 2017 election manifesto". iNews. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  35. "The future of the UK is at stake and our choices are stark — it's over to you". inews.co.uk. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  36. Speed, Barbara (13 June 2017). "Introducing i's new columnist: Nick Clegg". iNews. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  37. Morris, Nigel (27 December 2017). "Jeremy Corbyn interview: how Labour plans to win in 2022 (or 2018)". iNews.
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  41. "British Sports Journalism awards: 2017 writing shortlists are announced – Sports Journalists' Association". 29 January 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  42. webvid.co.uk. "British Media Awards 2018 Winners". British Media Awards. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
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  44. Duff, Oliver (27 March 2019). "Trust in i's journalism in print and digital is at record high, according to new industry research". iNews. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  45. "i is 'most trusted' national newspaper brand, industry research finds". inews.co.uk. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  46. Ritchie, Stuart (12 January 2023). "Why it seems we're getting worse at science". i. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023.
  47. Hartley, Dylan. "Why I think England are the darkest of Rugby World Cup horses – so long as they beat Argentina". iNews. i newspaper. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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