Authors, illustrators and agents back readers’ campaign to ‘Save the Observer’
Leading authors, illustrators and agents have spoken out against the Guardian Media Group’s proposed sale of the Observer to Tortoise Media. The Society of Authors has also publicly raised concerns about the deal, as readers launch a campaign to ‘Save the Observer’.
Tortoise, a digital start-up which was founded by the former Times editor James Harding in 2018, is in exclusive negotiations to buy the Observer with plans to put the newspaper’s content behind a paywall—a move authors say will threaten the reach and editorial independence of the 233-year-old newspaper. Tortoise, which remains loss-making, has promised to invest £25m in the title over the next five years and has said it would retain the Observer’s Sunday publication, including all existing sections.
Philip Pullman, Michael Frayn, Robert Harris, Monica Ali, Mary Beard, Julian Barnes, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Peter Kosminsky, Daisy Lafarge, Michael Ondaatje, Robert McCrum, Ian McEwan, Robert Macfarlane, Michael Rosen, Lemn Sissay, Tom Stoppard, Jackie Kay and Michael Morpurgo are among the 80 cultural figures who signed a letter to Press Gazette describing the sale as “a betrayal” and calling on the Scott Trust—which owns the Observer and guarantees its editorial independence—“to reject this ill-considered offer at once”.
Now the Society of Authors has backed the National Union of Journalists (NUJ); the NUJ has voiced its deep-rooted concerns about the viability of the Observer and journalists’ jobs if it is sold to Harding’s start-up. Earlier this week, the NUJ began balloting journalists for industrial action at the Guardian and the Observer.
“The Society of Authors, as the union for writers, translators and illustrators, is in full support of the NUJ’s right to raise questions about the sale of the Observer to Tortoise Media—we would mirror the NUJ’s concerns that the independence and excellence of journalism at the Observer must be preserved, together with the livelihoods of all those journalists who have made it a respected publication synonymous with courage and integrity,” a spokesperson for the Society of Authors said.
Authors and illustrators are also speaking out publicly for the first time in support of the newly launched readers’ campaign to save the Observer, the only newspaper to review poetry and graphic novels every month.
Michael Morpurgo, the former Children’s Laureate, said: “Never in my lifetime have we needed more urgently a voice of reason and truth, a voice of knowledge and insight, thoughtfulness and sensitivity. Editorial independence is essential to our society, to our wellbeing, to our sense of belonging. We abandon those voices at our peril.”
Jackie Kay, the award-winning poet and author, said: “My Sunday is my Sunday because of the Observer—specifically the books page. Poetry has so few regular reviews. The cultural pages of the Observer are one crucial way of mirroring our life back at us and so crucial in helping us find new writers and affirm what we think of old ones. They form part of a national conversation that I would not be without.”
Michael Rosen, the author, poet and professor of children’s literature, said: "I don’t agree with everything in the Observer. Of course not. But it’s one of the few places left in the world of mainstream mass media where alternative, radical and offbeat ideas are heard. The plans being made for the ownership of the Observer that I’ve seen seem unthought out, financially risky and with no guarantees that the present width and depth will be maintained."
The illustrator and author Rob Biddulph, who has created a mascot of a penguin holding a ‘Save the Observer’ placard for the readers’ campaign, said: "Handing over Britain’s oldest newspaper to a smaller, financially uncertain media outlet will not only risk the paper’s journalistic integrity by stripping it of its editorial support and global reach, but will also threaten its commitment to truth. In a world where strong independent voices are harder and harder to find, let’s not let another be muffled. Save the Observer."
Axel Scheffler, best known as the illustrator of The Gruffalo, is also supporting the campaign: “I’ve been a reader of the Observer ever since I moved to this country in 1982. I’m a great believer in newspapers in printed form and I’m deeply worried about the sale of this important independent voice of reason in these troubled times and its disappearance behind a paywall.”
An overwhelming majority (93%) of Guardian and Observer journalists have indicated their willingness to strike over the proposed deal, which will remove the protections and guarantees of editorial independence given to the Observer by the Scott Trust in 1993 and place it under the ownership of wealthy individual shareholders.
A facebook group called "Save the Observer", and a Twitter/X account, @ObserverReaders, are trying to raise awareness about the campaign, and fans of the Observer are calling for messages of support to be sent to TheReadersObserver@gmail.com and to the letters editor at the Observer.
Other prominent publishing figures have also raised their concerns about the deal. Comics expert and curator Paul Gravett, who runs the Comica Festival, said: “In its high-quality coverage of books and their authors, the Observer stands as one the very finest in the global media. It’s been especially significant for the innovative, booming field of graphic novels, reviewing them every month as well as interviewing their creators.
He added: "For nearly 20 years, the Observer has also helped launch and support the careers of several of Britain’s brightest cartoonists through the annual Observer/Faber Graphic Short Story Prize competition. The Observer and its books pages play a crucial role as a trusted and accessible source of news and criticism in the British and international literary ecosystem and they must not be shrunk, paywalled or sacrificed.”
Isabel Greenberg and Joff Winterhart are among the winners and runners-up who have gone on to be acclaimed published authors. Winterhart’s story, Days of the Bagnold Summer, was made into a feature film starring Monica Dolan, directed by "Inbetweeners" star Simon Bird.
The literary agent Toby Mundy, chief executive of Aevitas Creative, whose clients include Sarah Churchwell and Clive Myrie, said: “I’ve been reading the Observer each week for more than 40 years—not even a fifth of the paper’s existence—and it has been central to developing my understanding of the world and in nurturing my love of books and great writing. In their breadth and quality, the paper’s books pages are among the very best we have in the English language."
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: “News of these secret negotiations have understandably blindsided journalists across the Guardian and the Observer. Of course, our members rightly fear the impact on jobs and livelihoods. However, their anger and dismay is also motivated by the adverse impact such a sale will have on the future of both titles and on wider press freedom and plurality.”
She added: “The Scott Trust has serious questions to answer—there have been assurances over many years that the protections afforded the Guardian were extended to the Observer, and their day-to-day operation is inextricably entwined. Now seemingly that protection is potentially being dismantled. When and how was this decided by the trustees? NUJ members care deeply about the future of both the Guardian and the Observer. Our consultation and likely onward industrial action ballot will form a key part of the NUJ’s opposition to this short-sighted and flawed proposal.”
In an email to staff, seen by The Bookseller, Guardian Media Group chief executive officer Anna Bateson said that on being approached by Tortoise "it became clear that this was a serious offer which could create a more sustainable business strategy for the Observer". She explained that Tortoise Media proposed continuing to publish the Observer as a Sunday newspaper, "with an emphasis on original journalism", and that all the existing sections would be retained. Tortoise would also invest in creating a "dedicated digital presence" for the Observer, as well as newsletters, podcasts and events.
A GNM spokesperson told The Bookseller: "The Observer would become the sole title and focus for Tortoise, including building a digital presence for the Sunday newspaper. This would mean more access to arts and culture journalism and increasing media plurality. On a Sunday, under the proposed deal, there would be the Observer newspaper in print, the Observer online and the Guardian online as well."
