I've been in The Independent's offices. Posh, they ain't. Picture instead a 70s peeling and faded corporate heckhole.

Sounds pretty posh to Yorkshire ears ;)

Are they sharing building space or the actual business? Penguin and the Sunday Times share a building.

Just building space, I believe. I highly doubt the Indy will despoil their pages with the likes of Melanie Philips or Richard Littlejohn.

They are renting space owned by the Fail, so even if none of the Fail's columnists write for them, they are still giving them money.

I don't see the Indie lasting more than another year or so anyway. When you combine the staffing cuts with the desperate attempts to boost readership by making every third story in some way about sex, and the rightwards turn the paper's politics are taking, you get something that's edging more and more towards Mail/Express land daily, while still haemmoraging readers.
Which is a shame, because up until *very* recently it was a good newspaper, and it still has quite a few good columnists...

Yes, in particular I hope Johann Hari is offered another platform if the worst should happen.

I know what you mean about it becoming right-wing, what was yesterday's editorial all about? Still, they did publish a good letter about Baby P.

"If carers of children on the "at risk" register were required to bring the child to a designated point, such as a surgery or clinic, once a week, then the onus would not be on overstretched, frequently young, possibly frightened social workers spending precious time having to knock on unanswered doors, or where there might be the threat of danger either to themselves or to the carer.

Failure to bring the child would result in immediate action by the local authority, either problem-solving, practical help, or more drastic action"

- L Cornish, Cambridge

I'd just like to echo your comments.

Their launch of a blogging platform on LJ is also imperfect - it doesn't appear to be possible to view ALL of their blogs from the ‘Home’ page of Independent Minds - only their most-viewed writers.
Well, either that, or I can't work its navigation properly.

To find out that Roger Alton's blog even exists, I had to go to the Guardian's media section about the Indy, and then follow their link.

Alton's only entry so far also hints at a lurch into Fail territory, so I think I'm going to leave him a comment....

He did ask for our opinions about the paper, m'kay?
M'kay.

If I was an Indy reader, I certainly wouldn't be happy about putting any money in the Daily Fail coffers.

So it's a good thing I'm an ignorant buffoon who buys no newspapers at all! :)

Shame, really. I don't buy the Indy much, but I quite liked the fact that it was there, you know? I don't see it being around much longer, which is sad. I quite liked the Indy on Sunday, if only because it was more fun and free-of-Nick Cohen than the Observer. Sigh.

God, their funds are low. Maybe they're planning on ditching the paper product and publishing over livejournal.

Ben
Backtowardsthelocus.wordpress.com

BOLLOCKS!

Hubby's been buying the Indy ever since Today went under, and I've been reading it ever since we got married (12 years ago).

Yes, it isn't perfect, but it seems the sanest paper out there. If it DOES go under what do other hippy-dippy-wet-liberals recommend as an alternative?!?!

Get your news from the web, save the rainforest, and bollocks to the lot of them.

*snigger*

Sadly I think you might be right!

(Hubby agrees!)