The Independent revealed today that its digital editorial team has now grown to 90 (double its size before the closure of the Independent print editions at the end of March).
And publisher ESI Media claimed that it is already in profit.
Led by editor Christian Broughton the team also includes some big names from the print edition including: Robert Fisk, Hamish McRae, Patrick Cockburn, Janet Street-Porter,Kim Sengupta, Grace Dent, Simon Calder, Mark Ogden, Emily Dugan, John Rentoul, Hannah Fearn, Andrew Grice and Mary Dejevsky.
Some 40 journalists are said to have moved over from The Independent print edition to the website (around 100 were made redundant).
More editorial recruits have been promised throughout this year,
Broughton said: “The Independent has always had a pioneering spirit, and we are off to a brilliant start in our digital-only era. This phase of our significant expansion is not over yet, and as we continue to build the team, our intelligent, internationalist and innovative take on news will only get stronger for readers in the UK and around the world.”
The Independent said that subscriptions to its Daily Edition app are already 50 per cent higher than those of the print edition.
The global audience of unique users is said to be nerly 70 per cent. Revenue growth for the site of 50 per cent has been predicted this year.
Scott Deutrom, chief digital revenue officer for ESI Media, said: “We are meeting and exceeding the needs of our commercial partners, who increasingly want engagement with consumers via digital channels.
“Our business is now optimised to answer these requirements with our digital reach growing by the day. Our commercial team is fully focussed on helping advertisers engage with our smart, affluent and digital-first audience, mixing innovative creative and native solutions via any channel that they wish to trade by.”
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