Observer writer Carole Cadwalladr has denounced plans to sell the title to Tortoise Media at an international conference on press freedom – despite being told to “desist” by management after previous public statements about the deal
Cadwalladr is one of few serving Guardian or Observer journalists to have spoken out publicly about the proposal to transfer the title and its 70 staff to Tortoise Media despite widespread opposition. Some 93% of Guardian and Observer journalists voted in favour of strike action in protest at the deal this week.
The podcast publisher says it has £20m to invest in turning The Observer into a standalone newspaper with a paywalled website. But Cadwalladr and many other Guardian staff feel the deal puts the future of the title in jeopardy.
Cadwalladr, who is on a freelance contract with The Observer, was written to by management after appearing on the Media Confidential podcast hosted by former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger earlier this month.
Press Gazette understands she has been accused of disparaging colleagues and the company and of making inaccurate statements. Cadwalladr said she denies disparaging anyone and said no detail has been given about alleged inaccuracies.
All Observer and Guardian journalists are required to adhere to the GNM editorial code which states: “It is important that outside interests do not come into conflict with journalists’ work for GNM in any way that could compromise, or appear to compromise, the editorial integrity and reputation of individual journalists or GNM”. Freelance contributors are required to sign a contract which states: “You shall not at any time do anything to bring GNM’s brands, trademarks or reputation into disrepute”.
Cadwalladr was told that it was third occasion she had breached company ruleswith recent public statements and been asked to “desist”.
But Cadwalladr told Press Gazette: “I’ve decided that my loyalty lies with the readers of The Observer.”
New age of ‘politically motivated witch hunts’
She warned that the US “is entering a new age of politically motivated witch hunts that will look like McCarthyism on steroids” in her address.
She said: “The biggest political donor in UK history didn’t sue the Guardian, instead, he came after me as an individual. He waited for me to repeat a line from a Guardian article in a talk, and he sued me for that.
“It was clever and deliberate and designed to silence and intimidate me. To isolate me from my news organisation. And to silence and intimidate all journalism into him. And it worked.
“And this, I have no doubt, is a playbook that will be deployed against other journalists.
“It wasn’t just that the lawsuit tied me up for years in litigation and led to years of stress and fear, it also became a central weapon in an online harassment and abuse campaign against me. Every court report led to a new wave of attacks. It was like being trapped in a washing machine, a spin cycle of abuse.”
‘Grave threat’ warning over Observer deal
And she went on to tell the conference that her own news organisation “is under grave threat”.
She said: “All of mine and my colleagues’ work is read by a global audience on the Guardian’s website. But in the UK, it also appears in the print edition of The Observer, The Guardian’s Sunday sister newspaper.
“And, as we speak, The Guardian’s board has approved the sale of The Observer – the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world – to a tiny, financially unprofitable podcast company.
“We, the journalists of both The Guardian and The Observer, believe that this is an existential threat to our journalism.
“We believe the company that is seeking to buy us has no track record of success, no business model and insufficient funds. We don’t understand why no alternatives have been considered. We believe that The Guardian is risking the trust of the readers by making such a reckless decision in haste. We believe it is the beginning of the end of our newspaper.
“Now, 93% of us have voted to go on strike.
“I’m telling you this because ownership matters. The British government has previously scrutinised the potential buyers of news organisations and I urge it do so in this case.
“Because the freedom of the press is precious and fragile and when a news organisation dies, it leaves a gaping hole. Politicians go unscrutinised, crimes go unreported, human rights abuses go undocumented.
“If press freedom means anything, it has to mean the ability to speak out to advocate for the survival of our own news organisation. Because if a newspaper is allowed to die, it’s never coming back.
“And at this point, we, the journalists of The Guardian and Observer, believe The Guardian’s management is an active threat to press freedom.
“I’m speaking on behalf of those journalists when I say that we believe its actions are imperilling the survival of a 240-year-old newspaper.”
The Scott Trust, which owns Guardian Media Group, is expected to make a decision in principle over selling The Observer on Monday,
A Guardian spokesperson said: “We recognise the strength of feeling about the proposed sale of the Observer. Our priority is to serve our readers, protect jobs and support our staff, so that the Guardian and the Observer can continue to promote liberal journalism and thrive in a challenging media environment.”
Concluding her speech, Cadwalladr said: “I’ve learned the hard way what happens when journalism comes under attack. I am lucky. I live in a country with strong institutions and rule of law. I faced a civil not a criminal suit. And it still felt like an existential struggle for survival. I’m only now two years on, recovering my psychological and physical health. And I’m ending by telling you this because there is a global witch hunt coming. And what happened to me must not be allowed to happen to other journalists.
“I am just one person. But what I worry is that news organisations will find reasons to not provide financial and other support to their journalists when they come under attack. They will be afraid of the consequences. They will find loopholes and excuses to not do the right thing.
“This is what happened to me. I faced my nightmare alone. But we cannot let that happen to other journalists. Because a threat to one journalist is a threat to all. A threat to one news organisation is a threat to all.
“There is a curtain of darkness that is falling across the world, a blanket of fake news and lies is smothering the truth and we know where that leads. We simply cannot afford to let this happen.”
A source close to The Guardian said: “Carole is a fantastic campaigning journalist and welcome to an opinion but many would respectfully disagree with her that this deal threatens the future of this business – what this about is enabling the Observer to thrive.”
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