| Impartial news and intelligent debate | |
.png) Logo since December 2024 | |
 Front page of the 4,401st edition ofThe i Paper on 31 December 2024 | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact |
| Owner(s) | Independent Digital News & Media Ltd (2010–2016) Johnston Press (2016–2018)[1] JPIMedia (2018–2019) Daily Mail and General Trust (2019–present)[2] |
| Publisher | Independent Digital News & Media Ltd (2010–2016) Johnston Press (2016–2018) JPIMedia (2018–2019) Daily Mail and General Trust (2019–present) |
| Editor | Oliver Duff[3] |
| Founded | 26 October 2010; 15 years ago (2010-10-26)[4] |
| Political alignment | Nonpartisan |
| Headquarters | Northcliffe House,London, England |
| Circulation | 116,446 (as of September 2025)[5] |
| Website | inews |
The i Paper, known asi until December 2024,[6] is a British national newspaper published in London byDaily Mail and General Trust and distributed across the United Kingdom. It is aimed at "readers and lapsed readers" of all ages and commuters with limited time. It was launched in 2010 as a sister paper toThe Independent.[7][8][9]
Thei was acquired byJohnston Press in 2016 afterThe Independent shifted to a digital-only model.[10] Thei came under the control ofJPIMedia a day after Johnston Press filed for administration on 16 November 2018.[11] The paper and its website were bought by theDaily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million.[2] On 6 December 2019 theCompetition and Markets Authority served an initial enforcement order on DMGT andDMG Media Limited, requiring the paper to be run separately pending investigation.[12]
The paper is classified as a "quality" in the UK market but is published in the standardcompacttabloid-size format.[citation needed] Since its inception,The i Paper has expanded its layout and coverage, adding special sections for notable events and revamping its weekend edition. The paper had an average daily circulation of 302,757 in March 2013,[13] significantly more thanThe Independent, though that figure declined, and had dropped to 126,308 by 2024.[14]
Politically,The i Paper intends to benonpartisan; it has refused to endorse any political party in every general election since 2015, claiming to be the only national paper of the UK to do so.[15]
A press statement released on the website ofThe Independent on 19 October 2010 announced the launch of thei. Also in October 2010, Independent Print Limited launched an advertising campaign to promote the new publication. The first issue of thei went on sale for 20p on 26 October 2010, along with a new-look version ofThe Independent.[9]
Starting on 7 May 2011 a Saturday edition was published, with more pages and at the price of 30p. This increased to 40p in January 2014, with the weekday edition rising to 30p. In September 2016, the price was raised to 60p, with the weekday edition rising to 50p.[16] At the start of September 2017, the price rose once again, to 60p for the weekday edition and 80p for the relaunchedi weekend beginning later that month. The paper cited the rising cost of materials needed to print the paper and the increasingly difficult environment in which print journalism found itself.[17]
On 11 February 2016, it was revealed that regional publisherJohnston Press, which ownedThe Yorkshire Post andThe Scotsman, were in the advanced stages of talks to buy thei for around £24 million.[18] The acquisition was completed beforeThe Independent became a digital-only publication, and a "significant number" of staff joined the team fromThe Independent.[19] The new editorial team was announced in April 2016[20] and moved one floor down inNorthcliffe House.[citation needed]
On 30 September 2017, a new, redesigned, version of the weekend edition of thei went on sale, costing 80p. This relaunch of the weekend paper saw circulation rise by around 30,000, to around 290,000 of the first edition of the redesigned paper being sold. By August 2018, the weekend edition had become the strongest day of trading for thei.[21]
In December 2017, the owners of thei, Johnston Press, announced the newspaper was bringing in a monthly profit of around £1 million.[22] They stated that this was the result of: "Johnston Press management's strategy of investing in improved content under editorOlly Duff's clear leadership, increased brand awareness, distribution, and advertiser solutions, while delivering efficiencies".[23] A February 2018 trading update from parent companyJohnston Press stated that the paper held a 20% market share of the 'Quality' weekday market.[24]
Thei website,inews.co.uk, was reported to attract around two million unique viewers at the start of 2018;[23] that figure had grown 457% by November, withComscore reporting unique visitors to the website then stood at 5.2 million, surpassing the reach ofThe Times andHuffington Post UK.[25]
In November 2018, ownership of thei alongside the other assets of Johnston Press were transferred in a pre-packaged administration deal to JPIMedia, a company set up by the bondholders of Johnston Press, after several attempts to restructure the debt or sell the business were unsuccessful.[citation needed]
On 14 September 2019, Theiweekend price rose from £1 to £1.20.[26] On 29 November 2019, it was announced that JPIMedia had sold thei newspaper and website to theDaily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), which owns theMail on Sunday andMailOnline.Lord Jonathan Harmsworth of Rothermere, the chair of DMGT, said that the paper would maintain its politically independent editorial style.[2]
In March 2021, thei broke the story thatPontins holiday parks used a list of common Irish surnames as an internal document to prevent bookings by "undesirable guests".[27] In December 2021, DMGT announced that bothi and the DMGT-ownedNew Scientist magazine would be moved to a new division of the company, to be called Harmsworth Media.[28][29]
In December 2024, thei was renamedThe i Paper.[6] A new masthead, "Impartial news and intelligent debate", was also adopted by the paper. Editor Oliver Duff explained that the rebrand was made "to reflect how we are talked about in conversation, in newsagents and on television. Our commitment to impartial journalism has only strengthened. These values are popular with our audience and motivate journalists in our newsroom".[6][30]
Thei istabloid-size and stapled, and the first issue contained 56 pages.[citation needed] The Friday edition of the paper, which contains the "Friday" section, has a slightly increased page count, at around 65.[citation needed] The weekend version of the paper is significantly larger than the weekday version, containing 87 pages.[citation needed] Thei prides itself on having no supplements, something common in many other quality British newspapers, saying they want to give readers the best experience without supplements that "clog up" recycling bins.[17] The newspaper contains "matrices" for news, business and sports — small paragraphs of information which are sometimes expanded upon in full articles further on in the paper.[9] The title also includes a features section titlediQ, Arts and Business sections, puzzles and a television and radio guide.[9]
The managing director ofThe Independent stated several days before the newspaper went into print that the publication is designed for people who do not have much time to read a newspaper.[9] On 20 April 2011, editorSimon Kelner announced that a Saturday edition of thei would be published, starting from 7 May 2011 and costing 30pence, 10 pence more than the weekday version. From early 2026 the cover prices for the print editions in the UK are: £1.10 on each weekday, running Monday to Friday, and £2 at weekends, covering both Saturday and Sunday. The paper runs a subscription, whereby customers can buy pre-paid vouchers to exchange for their copy of the paper.[citation needed] The subscription can be either six months or a year long and can be chosen Monday to Friday or including Saturday. There is also a discounted student subscription that lasts for one academic year.[citation needed]
Thei is known for having a neutral political stance,[31] although it has also been described as having acentre-left political outlook.[32] In 2015, the paper's editor Oliver Duff said it pursued "political impartiality".[33] In 2019 Duff said it would report "without fear or favour", with the intention of being "tougher" than theBBC on maintaining impartiality while remaining "fair" in its reporting.[34] The paper aims to present opinions from all parts of the political spectrum with the goal of encouraging its readership to form their own fact-based opinions.[35] Ahead of the2015 UK general election, Duff said the paper would remain neutral and refrain from endorsing a vote for any political party.[33] In the2017,2019 and2024 UK general elections, thei continued to refuse endorsing any political parties to maintain political neutrality.[36][37][15] Explaining the paper's continued neutrality in 2024, Duff said thei was the only national paper to "never" support a political party and added that it "never will", stating that it gives "no one […] an easy ride. Not the Tories, Labour or Nigel Farage."[15]
Nick Clegg, former UK Deputy Prime Minister and former leader of theLiberal Democrats, a centrist party, was a fortnightly columnist for thei from 2017, after leaving parliament; however, he has not written fori since 2018. His column usually featured in the "My View" comment section of the paper.[38] During an interview for thei in December 2017, thenLabour leaderJeremy Corbyn declared himself to be a dedicated reader of thei, saying that its compact size and concise articles suited his busy lifestyle asLeader of Her Majesty's Opposition.[39] During the2016 UK European Union membership referendum, held in June 2016, the paper chose not to declare for either "Leave" or "Remain", unlike a majority of other British newspapers who came out for either side of the debate.[40]
Since being named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2015News Awards,[41] thei has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards in the UK. At the 2017Press Awards, thei secured six nominations.[42]Katy Balls was a finalist alongsideStephen Bush for Political Commentary of the Year,Yasmin Alibhai-Brown for Broadsheet Columnist of the Year, Alice Jones for Critic of the Year, Steve Connor for Science Editor of the Year, Kim Sengupta for Foreign Reporter of the Year, Sam Cunningham for Sports Journalist of the Year, while the paper was nominated for Best News Site of the Year. At the 2017British Sports Journalism Awards,Hugo Lowell was nominated for Young Sports Writer of the Year.[43]
At the 2018 British Media Awards, thei won Gold in the Launch of the Year category fori weekend and Editorial Campaign of the Year category for its coverage ofNHS cuts. The paper was also runner-up for both Print Product of the Year and Media Brand of the Year.[44] Thei was found in a 2018 poll to be the second-most trusted news brand in the UK afterThe Guardian.[45] In March 2019, thei overtookThe Guardian to become the most trusted digital news brand on-line, and third in print.[46] The two then tied as most trusted national newsbrand for their paper editions in 2020; thei was third on-line.[47] At the 2019 British Media Awards, thei won Gold in the Media Brand of the Year category, Silver for the Digital Product of the Year, and Bronze in the Print Product of the Year category.
Following its renaming in December 2024, the associated website redesign earned inews.co.uk the "Website of the Year" award at the 2025 Press Awards.[48]
