A new pro-independence Scottish daily sold out of its initial print run on its first day on the news stands.
The National went on sale for the first time on Monday morning in a week-long trial run being conducted by the Glasgow-based Herald & Times Group.
The 32-page tabloid is aimed at Scots who voted in favour of leaving the United Kingdom, and is edited by Richard Walker of the Sunday Herald, which is also based in the city.
The initial plan had been to print 30,000 copies of the inaugural edition but that was swiftly doubled in response to reader demand and the paper eventually sold 60,000 copies while more than 10,000 subscribed to its digital edition.
Said Richard: “We hope to continue growing these numbers as we refine and develop the content of the paper in close collaboration with our readership which is giving us its feedback – with no holds barred – at our temporary holding page www.thenational.scot.
“For now, the focus is on this first week.
“We’re very gratified with the response we’ve had so far and are hopeful that this strong start will give us the momentum we need to continue the paper and build it into a mainstay of the Scottish media landscape.”
Meanwhile commentators from across the country and further afield have given their reaction to the initial issues of the new Newsquest title.
The Guardian’s report of the inaugural edition questioned whether it would become “a McPravda for Scottish separatists”.
Reviewer Libby Brooks wrote: “The National is notable for style as much as content. There are big visuals, including a ‘picture of the day’ on the centre spread (can’t imagine where they got that idea from).
“The National’s Scottish coverage on launch day feels very central belt-centric – and Holyrood-filtered.
“One of the key appeals of the yes campaign during the referendum was that it expanded Scottish politics beyond this narrow geography, taking it into rural and local communities. The National will have to do better at reflecting that.”
Terry Murden, former business editor of The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday, gave his thoughts in a piece for allmediascotland.com.
He said: “The National, at an almost give-away 50p, looks and reads like we probably expected: bold, if a little worthy, more like The Socialist Worker than The Times.
“While it is presented in a neat package, it lacks content in many areas, perhaps reflecting the woeful staffing levels on newspapers.
“If this is what we are to get for our half a quid, it will not survive without filling the obvious gaps.”
No extra permanent staff have so far been taken on by the Herald & Times Group for the initial run, a point which garnered attention beyond these shores.
Russian news channel RT noted: “Parallels have been drawn between The National and The Independent spin-off ‘i’, which is also sold at a cut price and relies on its sister productions for both resources and content.”
Andrew McFadyen, programme editor at Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, added: “At the moment the paper is heavily reliant on a skeleton of staff from the Sunday Herald who are being asked to do more.”
“If The National is going to build a readership beyond committed Nationalists, and survive beyond its first week, it will require more breadth and serious investment.”
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For once I agree with The Guardian…McPravda it is.
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@onlooker — Not really. I’d say the Sunday Herald, while pro-indy, more than kept up its credentials for serious, critical journalism and analysis of both sides. It’s too early to tell but there’s absolutely no reason to suppose that The National will be any different.
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While I welcome a bit of belated balance in Scottish journalism regarding the ongoing independence debate, as well as political stories that don’t begin with variations on ‘THE SNP suffered a fresh blow last night as (insert unrelated events here)’, I wonder how The National can square its claim to be a pro-independent Scotland newspaper with outsourcing a lot of the production work to Newsquest’s site in Wales. Surely, if it aims to have its journalism – and by extension its cause – taken seriously, it should immediately commit to creating and maintaining journalism jobs based in Scotland?
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Forgive me for being critical, but that front page is about as alluring as a plate of cold, half-eaten haggis.
Not only is it bleak, stark and soulless, its ‘teases’ are as tantalising as the North Sea in midwinter.
Half the available editorial space is given over to a meaningless pair of eyes (are they supposed to indicate sadness, hunger and hurt, I wonder?) while the other half is taken up by the least exciting headline I’ve seen in years.
Worse still, there is no body text at all – not even an intro.
I can only assume those who rushed out to buy it were expecting something much better inside. Hope they got it.
First rule for any paper pushing a political message: make sure it’s a compelling read for everyone, not just the diehards.
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One big photo across two pages = page filler. I still want to know who is producing it. I give it six months.
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Aren’t they a bit late with the launch? The referendum was in September. What makes them think they’re going to get another one in the next 10 years?
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Well said, Brassington!
I’d put a thistle or a Scottish piper motif up there somewhere on the masthead.
It wants somebody from the D.C. Thomson organisation in Dundee (is it still called that?) to make the front page a bit more folksy, somehow. By and large, the Scots are a proud and emotional people. They need something to remind them of home.
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