The Observer

History and Founding

The Observer was first published on 4 December 1791 by W. S. Bourne, making it the world's oldest Sunday newspaper — and the first Sunday newspaper ever printed in Britain. Bourne had expected the venture to be profitable, but instead found himself quickly accumulating debts approaching £1,600. Though the paper's early editions proclaimed editorial independence, Bourne attempted to sell the title to the British government to cut his losses. The government declined to purchase it outright but agreed to subsidise it in exchange for editorial influence, and the paper soon adopted a conservative posture, opposing progressive reformers of the era including Thomas Paine, Francis Burdett, and Joseph Priestley.

The paper passed through several owners across the nineteenth century before coming into the hands of Julius Beer in 1870. Upon Julius's death in 1891, his son Frederick inherited the title, and Frederick's wife Rachel Beer became editor — the first woman to edit a national newspaper in Britain. Beer's tenure, which lasted until Frederick's death in 1903, was notable for a landmark scoop: in 1898, she secured the confession of Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, who admitted to forging the documents that had been used to convict Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jewish army officer, of treason. The confession, published in The Observer, sent shockwaves through France, galvanized international demands for a retrial, and contributed materially to Dreyfus's eventual exoneration in 1906. Beer concurrently served as editor of the Sunday Times from 1893 — the only person to have simultaneously edited two competing national newspapers.

After Frederick Beer's death, the paper was sold to Lord Northcliffe of the Daily Mail. Northcliffe appointed James Louis Garvin as editor in 1908, and Garvin rapidly transformed the paper from a struggling publication with a circulation of around 5,000 into an organ of significant political influence with a readership of 40,000. Political tensions between Garvin and Northcliffe led to the paper's sale in 1911 to William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor. It remained in the Astor family for over six decades.

The Astor era defined the Observer's modern character. In 1948, David Astor became editor and proprietor, and he would hold the position for 27 years — the longest editorship in the paper's history. David Astor transferred ownership to a board of trustees bound by restrictions against hostile takeover, with profits directed toward improving the newspaper and promoting high journalistic standards. His Observer became the voice of post-war liberal Britain: non-partisan, internationalist, and committed to human rights. It was, under Astor, the first national newspaper to oppose the British government's 1956 invasion of Suez — a stance that cost the paper many readers and advertisers but cemented its reputation for editorial independence. Astor's Observer also played a role in the founding of Amnesty International in 1961, after the paper published Peter Benenson's essay "The Forgotten Prisoners." Contributors during the Astor era included George Orwell, Kim Philby, Conor Cruise O'Brien, photographers Don McCullin and Jane Bown, and historian C. A. Lejeune.

Financial pressures accumulated through the 1970s. In 1977, the Astor family sold the newspaper to American oil company Atlantic Richfield (ARCO), which sold it in turn to Lonrho plc in 1981. The paper was acquired by the Guardian Media Group in June 1993, having come close to closure — a rival bid from The Independent was rejected — and it subsequently operated as a sister title to The Guardian, sharing resources and editorial infrastructure while maintaining a distinct Sunday identity and editorial voice. The Observer has backed different political parties at different elections over the decades; it endorsed the Liberal Democrats in 2010, marking the first time it had done so in its history.

In 2005, The Observer became the first newspaper to purposely document its internal editorial decisions through its blog, and also the first newspaper to release podcasts. The paper moved from broadsheet to Berliner format in January 2006, alongside The Guardian. It was named National Newspaper of the Year at the British Press Awards in 2007.

In 2024, following years of losses at the Observer and strategic reassessment by the Guardian Media Group, a sale to Tortoise Media was agreed in principle on 10 December 2024, closing on 18 December 2024. The announcement provoked a 48-hour strike by nearly 500 Guardian and Observer journalists — organized through the National Union of Journalists — followed by a second strike on 12 December, with staff protesting the threat to job security and to the paper's editorial standards and print identity. Despite the strike action, the Scott Trust — the charitable foundation that owns the Guardian Media Group — approved the sale, citing Tortoise's commitment to the paper's liberal values and a pledged investment of £25 million, primarily in the paper's first two years under new ownership.

Coverage, Content, and Transition to Tortoise

The Observer has historically been distinguished by its depth in foreign correspondence, arts and culture coverage, and investigative reporting. Its weekly format has enabled long-form essays, narrative journalism, and critical writing of a kind seldom possible in daily news cycles. Regular supplements have included the Observer Magazine (launched 1964, one of the first full-colour newspaper supplements in Britain), the Observer Food Monthly, Observer Sport, and the New Review culture section. The paper has long maintained a substantial staff of foreign correspondents.

Under the Tortoise Media acquisition, which formally transferred on 22 April 2025, The Observer launched a new dedicated website on 25 April 2025 — the first time the paper had its own online home separate from theguardian.com — and its first print edition under new ownership appeared on 27 April 2025. Tortoise, founded in 2018 by former BBC News director and Times editor James Harding and former U.S. Ambassador to the UK Matthew Barzun, positioned itself as a "slow journalism" publisher focused on podcasts, newsletters, and long-form investigations. Harding became editor-in-chief of The Observer, with Lucy Rock — previously the paper's deputy editor and acting editor — appointed as editor (print), making her the first woman to edit the Observer in over a century (following Rachel Beer). Rock departed in September 2025, and the editorial team is now led by Harding, with deputies Basia Cummings and Giles Whittell.

Tortoise's plans for the paper include building a daily digital Observer in arts, ideas, and news; expanding into business and economics reporting; growing international correspondent networks; and developing podcasts, video, and events programming. The Observer website relaunched in November 2025 with a registration wall, paywall, and app. A digital subscription costs £16 per month (or £144 annually), while combined print-and-digital packages start at £18 per month. The Scott Trust retains a nine percent stake in Tortoise Media, with a seat on both the commercial and editorial boards. In March 2026, The Observer announced a programme of voluntary redundancies across its roughly 140-person workforce, reflecting ongoing challenges around digital strategy and financial sustainability as the transition continues.

Access and Funding

The Observer is published weekly in print every Sunday and digitally at observer.co.uk. Print copies are available from national and independent retailers across the United Kingdom. Digital access is available through a subscription model launched in November 2025. The paper is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and operates editorially independently of its ownership.

The Observer / Tortoise Media
London, England, United Kingdom

Website: observer.co.uk
Digital subscriptions: observer.co.uk/subscribe

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Regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)

Metadata

Categories: UK News Organizations · Sunday Newspapers · Print and Digital Publications · Independent News Organizations · Investigative Journalism · Long-Form Journalism

Mission: To deliver liberal, independent, internationalist journalism across politics, foreign affairs, arts, culture, and ideas — upholding the Observer's historic values of editorial independence, rigorous reporting, and critical engagement with public life.

Year Founded: 1791

Description: The Observer is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, founded in London in 1791. After more than three decades as a sister title to The Guardian under the Scott Trust, it was acquired in December 2024 by Tortoise Media, with a new independent website and print identity launched in April–November 2025. Now operating under editor-in-chief James Harding with a combined print and digital model, it remains one of Britain's leading quality Sunday newspapers with a readership in the millions.

URL: https://observer.co.uk