The New European

The New European is a British pro-EU weekly newspaper that began publication on 8 July 2016. Launched as a response to the United Kingdom's 2016 EU referendum, its readership is aimed at those who voted to remain within the European Union, with the newspaper's original tagline being "The New Pop-up Paper for the 48%".[1][2] Formerly owned by Archant, it was announced at the beginning of February 2021 that a consortium including founder Matt Kelly, ex-New York Times CEO Mark Thompson and former Financial Times editor Lionel Barber had acquired the newspaper.[3]

The New European
Front page of issue 154 (from mid-2019)
TypeWeekly newspaper
FormatCompact
EditorJasper Copping
Founded4 July 2016 (2016-07-04)
Political alignmentPro-Europeanism
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersLucerne Rd, London
CountryUnited Kingdom
CirculationApproximately 20,000
ISSN2398-8762
Websitewww.theneweuropean.co.uk

Newspaper

It was founded and edited for the first three-and-a-half years of its existence by Matt Kelly, who formerly worked at the Daily Mirror[4] and Local World.

The newspaper's owners stated that The New European was to have an initial lifespan of just four issues, beyond which publication would be reviewed on a week-by-week basis. By the eve of the third edition the paper revealed it had broken even and sold around 40,000 copies.[5] It continued to publish beyond its fourth issue, and claimed in July 2019 that it continued to be profitable.[6] The circulation was reported in November 2016 to be "about 25,000"[7] and, in February 2017, to be 20,000.[8]

Alastair Campbell became the newspaper's editor-at-large in March 2017, months after it won the serial rights to the fifth volume of his diaries about the Blair government,[9][10] which it serialised over three weeks.

In May 2017 it said it only had one permanent staff member and around 40 contributors.[11] The paper announced it was changing from Berliner to Compact format in July 2017.[12]

In May 2018 the newspaper devoted a whole issue to feminism, rebranding as The New Feminist, edited by Caroline Criado-Perez with contributions from Helen Lewis, Samira Ahmed, and Konnie Huq. [13] On 29 March 2019, the date the UK was expected to leave the European Union under Theresa May, the newspaper devoted a whole edition to the writings of Will Self. The 25,000-word essay was illustrated by Martin Rowson.[14]

In September 2019, Kelly announced he was promoting Jasper Copping, previously the paper's deputy editor, to the role of editor, while taking the role of publisher himself.[15]

In February 2021 it was announced that a consortium including founder Matt Kelly, ex-New York Times CEO Mark Thompson and former Financial Times editor Lionel Barber had bought the newspaper from Archant.[16]

Digital

The paper announced in November 2016 that it was moving to become more digitally focussed. In May 2017 it launched its first podcast which now attracts between 10,000 and 15,000 listeners each week.[17] The website, which combines contributions from the newspaper with unique online-only content, claimed to attract more than a million page views a month.[18]

Reception

Awards

In March 2017, the Society of Editors awarded The New European the Chairman's award.[19] In May 2017, The New European won prizes at the annual British Media awards for Launch of the Year (Gold), Print Product of the Year (Silver) Content Team of the Year (Bronze) and Pioneer of the Year for the editor Matt Kelly.[20][21] In July 2017, the Archant Group won the Professional Publishers Association Chairman's award, with the launch of The New European cited.[22]

Criticism

In July 2016, just a week after the launch of the paper, Vice News described The New European as a newspaper for the "sore loser" that is "not united by a love for Europe, but rather a disdain for the 52%".[23]

In April 2017, The New European sent out a press release of its cover story titled "Skegness: The seaside town that Brexit could close down". In the press release it also mentioned that the story was "unlikely to go down well, locally, and there is an opportunity to stir up some controversy locally". The New European had claimed the press release had been sent out in error and issued another copy without the commentary. The Spectator ran a piece titled "The New European reveals its plan to troll Skegness". It said: "Although the pro-EU paper claims it is an advocate for unity and tolerance, it seems they hold no qualms about stirring up division in UK towns".[24] The cartoon image on the cover of that issue was a play on the The Jolly Fisherman, originally commissioned by the Great Northern Railways, and received heavy criticism. The i reported that the people of Skegness were "hurt and offended" that the town's mascot, the Jolly Fisherman, had been "exploited" on the front cover of The New European magazine.[25] In response to the feature, Member of Parliament for Boston and Skegness Matt Warman said that "Those who seek to make the European case anew would do better to try to understand than to insult either individuals or whole towns."[26]

References

  1. Worley, Will (3 July 2016). "UK's first ever 'pop up newspaper' to be launched in response to Brexit". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. Greenslade, Roy (4 July 2016). "Archant launches pop-up paper to serve people who voted remain". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  3. "Under new ownership". The New European. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. Sommers, Jack (7 April 2017). "This Brash, Pro-EU Newspaper Is Borrowing From The Daily Mail's Playbook". HuffPost UK. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  5. Sweney, Mark. "Anti-Brexit paper the New European outsells the New Day and makes profit". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  6. Walker, James (12 July 2019). "New European celebrates third birthday with letter dubbing doubters 'foolish' and 'treacherous'". Press Gazette. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  7. Sweney, Mark (4 November 2016) "The New European publisher puts up to 60 roles at risk in digital move" Archived 9 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Guardian.
  8. Lichterman, Joseph (2 February 2017) "This anti-Brexit newspaper first launched as a pop-up, but it's doing well enough to continue indefinitely" Archived 9 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Nieman Lab.
  9. "Alastair Campbell joins The New European as editor-at-large". The New European. 24 March 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  10. Greenslade, Roy (30 September 2016). "The New European wins serial rights to Alastair Campbell's new book". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  11. Hammett, Ellen (23 May 2017). "The New European: the pop-up paper that defied the odds". Mediatel Newsline. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  12. Hammett, Ellen (16 June 2017). "The New European goes tabloid". Mediatel Newsline. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  13. Tobitt, Charlotte (21 May 2018). "The New European to showcase women's voices as it becomes The New Feminist for one edition". Press Gazette. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  14. Burrell, Ian (28 March 2019). "Brexit or no Brexit, The New European will remain in print – but not as we know it". The Drum. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  15. Read, Jonathon (3 October 2019). "The New European appoints new editor". The New European. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  16. "Under new ownership". The New European. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  17. Kelly, Matt (11 July 2019). "The longest four weeks in publishing history". The New European. Norwich, UK: Archant. p. 3. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  18. Lichterman, Joseph (22 February 2017). "This anti-Brexit newspaper first launched as a pop-up, but it's doing well enough to continue indefinitely". Nieman Lab. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  19. "Winners Announced For National Press Awards". News Media Association UK. 15 March 2017. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  20. "2017 Winners". British Media Awards 2017. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  21. "British Media Awards 2017 – winners announced". In Publishing. 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 26 July 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  22. Sharmon, David. (3 July 2017). "'Modern and agile approach' secures national award win for publisher". Hold The Front Page. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  23. Harrison, Angus (11 July 2016). "'The New European' Is Britain's Sore Loser Newspaper". Vice. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  24. "The New European reveals its plan to troll Skegness". The Spectator. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  25. "Skegness 'hurt and offended' over Jolly Fisherman's 'exploitation' on New European cover". i newspaper. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  26. "My response to The New European". Matt Warman. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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