A fragment of an old front page of The Guardian, as shared on its Facebook page.
Journalists from The Guardian and its sister paper, the Sunday edition, The Observer, began a strike on Wednesday — their first in over 50 years — in protest against the planned sale of the Observer to a digital startup.
The Guardian Media Group (GMG), which owns both titles, announced in mid-September that it was in exclusive talks to sell The Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, to Tortoise Media, a digital news outlet founded in 2019. Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) initiated a 48-hour strike to oppose the sale.
The strike coincides with the 233rd anniversary of The Observer's first publication, the NUJ noted. The union is urging GMG to pause negotiations, allowing time to explore alternatives and ensure decisions are made in the best interests of both publications. “The union is calling for a pause in the exclusive talks to provide more time to consider alternatives and ensure decisions are in the best interests of both titles,” said Laura Davison, the NUJ's general secretary.
The "massive" vote in favor of the strike demonstrates “journalists’ desire to publicly highlight to readers and those in charge their collective concerns about the future of the title,” Davison added.
The Observer, she emphasized, "holds a unique and important place in public life and our members care about the next chapter in its history."
Founded in 1791, The Observer became part of the Guardian Media Group in 1993. Recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, the title has a storied history.
Tortoise Media, which is in talks to acquire The Observer, was co-founded by James Harding, a former editor of The Times and ex-BBC executive, alongside Matthew Barzun, a former U.S. ambassador to the UK.