Political blogger Iain Dale is moving back into print media and launching a monthly cross-party political magazine to be sent out free to every elected politician in Britain.
The 48-page publication, set to launch in March, will be published by independent publisher Biteback Media, and has a working title of The Politico – the name of Dale’s bookshop.
Dale, publisher of the title, said it will have a light, tabloid tone with the slogan: ‘For people in politics”.
Dale, a former Conservative parliamentary candidate, told Press Gazette: ‘It’s going to be completely cross-party. We have recruited an editor who’s on the left and we are recruiting a production assistant who we want to preferably be a Liberal Democrat supporter, so there can never be any accusations of us pointing in one direction.”
There will be a web offering for the magazine, with an e-edition and online video. Dale, whose blog is one of the most widely-read political blogs in the UK, said: ‘People are going to think it’s rather odd that someone who’s known for new media is going back to doing old media. We want to use the web to promote it and do some things that aren’t in the magazine itself.”
As financial backing was still being secured at the time Press Gazette went to print, Dale was unable to reveal other members of staff. There will be seven full time staff, four of those journalists. The magazine will include a mix of features, news and columns – with one big name columnist already said to be on board.
Dale hopes it will bear similarities to George magazine – which was published by John Kennedy Junior in the US from 1995 to 2001 with the tagline: ‘Not just politics as usual”.
He said: ‘Partly like that, but partly articles about politics that you wouldn’t find in The Spectator or the New Statesman. One feature lined up for an early issue is about Political Sex Factor – Britain’s most fanciable politicians.”
The title will also contain topics such as campaign advice, and aims to appeal to both national and local government.
As well as direct distribution to the 25,000 elected politicians in Britain, it will be available to general readers by subscription and on newsstands in Westminster.
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