London Independent switches to tabloid only

THE London Independent, part of Tony O’Reilly’s media group, will be available in tabloid form only from next Monday.

The paper, which has been printed in both broadsheet and tabloid format since last September, has seen a reversal in its fortunes since the move.

Circulation has soared 31% and it’s close to breaking even after years of losses. The paper is now selling 258,000 copies a day.

The tabloid version was initially launched in London but has since been rolled out across most of Britain and for the past few weeks the broadsheet was only available to around 10% of its readers.

Announcing the decision yesterday, the Independent told readers: “This is not a decision we have reached lightly. We are proud of the Independent’s traditions of in-depth reporting and analysis, of elegant layout and of bold use of photography.

“We know our readers value these traditions too. And we would not be making this change if we were not convinced that we can stay true to these traditions in our smaller format.

“The overriding principle of our compact edition has always been that, while the size of the pages may be smaller, there is no difference in our editorial quality or approach.”

Independent News & Media has also launched a tabloid version of the Irish Independent, but has not said how successful this venture has been.

The London Independent on Sunday version will remain in broadsheet form, although most of its supplements have already switched to the smaller format.