There are many good things to say about the National, Scotland’s new pro-independence daily. One is that Richard Walker, the redoubtable Sunday Herald editor who – alone – backed a yes vote in the referendum, has been put in charge of a project that helps reflect Scottish public opinion better. Another is that Newsquest, aka Gannett of Virginia, has taken the plunge with him, derring-do quite beyond corporate expectation. Another is that the newcomer arrives first as a 50p print copy, not some digital-only venture. And then there’s the way it sold like hot bannocks all week long – clearly overtaking the Scotsman plus the continuing Herald and winning “indefinite” publication into the future.
So far, so terrific. Can it go on once the successes of the trial week fade and the business of building a full-service paper and staff begins? Possibly: there’s enough skill and adrenaline involved. But one change always leads to another, and existing Scottish dailies and Sundays which, thus far, have either voted no or sat ostentatiously on the fence, can react overtime by clambering aboard the SNP’s bandwagon. (And if some London papers can champion independence for Catalonia, why can’t they do the same beyond Hadrian’s Wall?)
Gannett, grinding staff down around its chain empire, putting TV interests before print, must prepare for a long, gritty fight – especially one in which its new baby threatens to bite lumps out of its old Herald. But hey! Let’s celebrate today and worry about the tough stuff tomorrow.
