Indy to be Sold to Mail and Turned into ???

Is it really true? The Observer has reported that the Independent may be sold to the Daily Mail owner Daily Mail and General Trust (for as little as £1, given its debts).

What is that supposed to look like then? The Indy started off as a centre right paper, but is now beloved of left wing hacks, hence the slightly confused political outlook resting somewhere between the liberal democrats and Good Housekeeping. Not sure where Richard Littlejohn, immigrant bashing, and imperialism fit into all this…? Johann Hari on an undercover jaunt investigating the role gypsies play in driving global warming? A 2000 word Dom Joly rant on why Polish migrants just don’t get Alex James…

What seems more likely is that Emily ‘five newspapers will die’ Bell’s prophesy will come true, and the paper will just fold entirely. Who would want to buy a paper that is running at such a loss, in an environment where even strong titles seem like bad investments? Part of the reason behind the sale seems to be that the Belfast Telegraph – one of the titles in the INM group that proprieter Tony O’Rielly has traditionally used to prop up the Indy – is also beginning to see a sharp decline in revenues. O’Rielly has always referred to the Indy as his rather expensive business card – is that the kind of luxury any investor could afford/be prepared to take at the moment?

James Robinson also weighs in with a tid bit of consolation though: Paul Dacre is (probably) being sent to the glue factory…  goodbye Dacre’s daily editorial meetings (known as ‘the vagina monologues’ because of his liberal use of the word cunt). Could it be that the Sachsgate affair has come around full circle to bite him on the ass? No, no, that form of comforting absolute justice never happens…

Posted by Jonty Rhodes in Creative Economy | November 3, 2008 8:53AM |