Exactly thirteen months after The Independent withdrew from the island it will be the turn of its baby sister, the i.
The Guardian’s Roy Greenslade reported this afternoon what the Irish News reported earlier:
Independent Print has decided to stop distributing copies of The Independent’s little sister, i, in Ireland.
Newsagents have been told that the issues of the i on 2 August will be the final ones available for sale in both the north of Ireland and the Republic. [Ed – think Roy gives away a little of his politics with that phrase!]
Shopkeepers were informed that this was for “economic reasons.”
A spokesman for Independent Print confirmed that the papers were being withdrawn from sale on the island of Ireland but made no further comment.
According to the latest ABC statistics, i sold an average of 877 copies in the Republic in June. Its Northern Ireland sales are not broken out separately from those in England and Wales.
While it’s still available in tablet form (subscription), there’ll be no more picking up a 20p copy at the train station for a catch-up in the way home.
Given the economics of printing and distribution – never mind the defamation situation – it feels like it’s only a matter of time before other national papers withdraw.
Alan Meban. Tweets as @alaninbelfast. Blogs about cinema and theatre over at Alan in Belfast. A freelancer who writes about, reports from, live-tweets and live-streams civic, academic and political events and conferences. He delivers social media training/coaching; produces podcasts and radio programmes; is a FactCheckNI director; a member of Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland; and a member of the Corrymeela Community.
