With regard to Ole Jacob Sunde’s article (We want what’s best for the Observer – and the Guardian. That’s why the deal with Tortoise makes sense, 7 December), we are current and former contributors to the international pages of the Observer and the Guardian, and we want to register our alarm and dismay at the planned sale of the Observer to Tortoise, as well as at the manner in which discussions over the sale have been communicated.
In late September, some of us wrote to Mr Sunde privately to express our concerns, and he responded that the board would take them into account.
We asked Mr Sunde to ensure that when the Scott Trust weighed up the sale of the Observer, it was fully aware of both the Observer’s legacy of influential international reporting and of the way the paper enriches the international coverage available on the Guardian website today.
The Observer has an unparalleled tradition of courageous international reporting, which can be traced back at least to 1942, when George Orwell made his first contribution to the paper, in an unsigned piece backing Indian independence. The Observer stood alone opposing the invasion of Suez, and played such an important role in the fight against apartheid that Nelson Mandela paid tribute to its work.
Amnesty International was launched with an article in the Observer by its founder, Peter Benenson, and the paper’s scoop exposing an illegal US-UK spying operation against the UN security council ahead of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was so extraordinary it has been made into a Hollywood film.
Today, the Observer complements, enriches and deepens the international coverage available on the Guardian website. The Observer offers space for in-depth coverage that is not always possible in the daily news rush.
We are proud to be part of the Observer’s long tradition of courageous and influential international reporting, and we appreciate working with Observer editors who have helped us uphold those standards and aim for the same impact.
In September, we asked Mr Sunde to investigate whether Tortoise has the funds and the commitment to continue the Observer’s proud tradition as it seeks to reshape the paper. International reporting is expensive and difficult. It requires long-term knowledge, contacts and language skills to effectively cover conflict and political changes. As far as we understand their plans, a Tortoise-run Observer would have far fewer correspondents on whom to draw than currently.
We also asked Mr Sunde what the sale would mean for the Guardian’s international editors, who already work long and difficult hours to ensure that reporters are safe and the paper’s coverage is comprehensive, powerful and incisive. We wondered how it would affect weekend working shifts and the website’s international coverage on weekends.
In Mr Sunde’s response and at subsequent editorial meetings, we do not feel we received substantive responses to these questions, or assurances that they had been properly considered. Many of us who are currently based abroad wanted to strike with our colleagues in protest at the sale, but we have been advised by the NUJ that due to legal technicalities, those working outside the UK could not join the strike this time. We want to register our discontent.
We work across the world, and we understand that some readers outside Britain are unfamiliar with the Observer brand. In today’s media landscape, we realise that combining the Guardian and Observer brands in one website presents a challenge. But we hoped and expected that challenges such as the future of the Observer would have been discussed openly, and that major decisions affecting dozens of our colleagues would be made in consultation with journalists, not rushed through in the face of almost unanimous opposition.
The Guardian’s not-for-profit structure, its progressive values and its editorial independence are the envy of many journalists in the countries where we work, and make us deeply proud to work here. We are saddened at the manner in which decisions were taken over the sale of the Observer, and it undermines this pride. We hope that it is not too late for the board to change course.
Kaamil Ahmed Reporter, global development
Peter Beaumont Senior international correspondent
Daniel Boffey Chief reporter
Julian Borger Senior international correspondent
Tania Branigan Leader writer and former China correspondent
Jason Burke International security correspondent
Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
Deborah Cole Berlin correspondent
Kate Connolly International correspondent
Lizzy Davies Europe news editor
Eromo Egbejule West Africa correspondent
Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent
Emma Graham-Harrison Senior international affairs correspondent
Angela Giuffrida Rome correspondent
Luke Harding Senior international correspondent
Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent
Jon Henley Europe correspondent
Charlotte Higgins Chief culture writer
Sam Jones Madrid correspondent
Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspondent
Chris McGreal Former Washington, Jerusalem and Johannesburg correspondent
Bethan McKernan Jerusalem correspondent
Carlos Mureithi East Africa correspondent
Philip Oltermann Culture editor for Europe
Paul Owen News editor, international news
Jennifer Rankin Brussels correspondent
Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent
Tiago Rogero South America correspondent
Andrew Roth Global affairs correspondent
Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor
Rachel Savage Southern Africa correspondent
Pjotr Sauer Foreign correspondent
David Smith Washington bureau chief
Simon Tisdall Former foreign editor
Mark Townsend Senior reporter
Jonathan Watts Global environment editor
Shaun Walker Central and eastern Europe correspondent
Amelia Gentleman Reporter; former Paris and Moscow correspondent
Leyland Cecco Canada correspondent
Harriet Sherwood Reporter; former Jerusalem correspondent and foreign editor
Ed Vulliamy Former Guardian and Observer writer
Martin Hodgson International editor, Guardian US
