Stewart Kirkpatrick, former editor of the Scotsman website, has announced plans to launch a new and seemingly unconventional Scottish newspaper “in the next few weeks”.
In a post on Allmediascotland yesterday, Kirkpatrick said he had already recruited a team of writers.
“Our paper element will not be printed on a daily or even weekly basis. We will use print because it is a fantastic medium but we will use it in innovative, unexpected ways.
“This publication will not try to be all things to all readers. It will not cover every cough and sniffle of the news landscape. It will zero in on what we think is important and leave the rest to other publications.
“We’re interested in quality, not filling space. We’re not worried about what’s in the other papers this morning; we want to be told something we don’t know already.”
The launch comes at a time when Scottish newspapers are struggling. According to the most recent figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, The Scotsman’s circulation fell by 7.78 per cent and The Herald by 9.57 per cent year-on-year.
Kirkpatrick added: “There is a substantial gap in the market. There is room – in fact, a desperate need – for an online, heavyweight publication committed to quality journalism. Scotland needs an intelligent title that uses the internet, not fights against it.
‘I know this seems like madness, given what we’re always told about our slice of the market being tighter than your average newspaper finance director at Christmas.”
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