Guardian Media Group journalists to strike over sale of Observer

Journalists at the Guardian Media Group will go on strike next month in protest at a planned sale of The Observer.
The staff at The Guardian and The Observer’s are taking industrial action for two 48-hour periods starting on December 4 and December 12 after union members were left “deeply disappointed” by the sale talks with Tortoise Media.
The start-up which is run by James Harding, a former BBC News boss and former Times editor, revealed in September that it was seeking to buy The Observer and planned to invest £25 million in the publication.
The oldest Sunday newspaper in the world would go behind a paywall under Tortoise’s ownership, and Harding is seeking to build a paying subscriber base of 173,000. The Scott Trust, the £1.3 billion fund that owns The Observer, has said it is “right to engage” in sale talks with Tortoise Media.
However, GMG journalists have expressed concerns about the financial stability of The Observer if it is sold to Tortoise Media, because the company is loss-making and was only launched in 2019. Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) voted to pursue strike action on Tuesday, with 93 per cent of the 484 ballots cast in favour of the walkout.
The NUJ said it discovered in negotiations on Tuesday that GMG’s board had decided to recommend a sale of The Observer despite previously saying it had not yet completed due diligence.
Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the NUJ, said: “Industrial action is always a last resort, but deeply disappointed members have been left with no choice than to take action in their defence of The Observer’s heritage and public interest journalism.
“GMG has acted in poor faith, revealing hours into yesterday’s negotiations that recommendation of the sale had already been agreed despite previous assurances to the contrary.”
She said the strikes could be avoided if GMG put the sale on hold and started “listening to the concerns of journalists”.
A spokeswoman for GMG said: “While we respect the right to strike, we do not believe a strike is the best course of action in this case and our talks with the NUJ continue. Our priority is to serve our readers and support our staff, so that the Guardian and the Observer can continue to promote liberal journalism and thrive in a challenging media environment.”