ONE of the few mementoes I have kept from the referendum on Scottish independence is a copy of the Scottish Daily Mail dated September 19, the day after Scotland’s date with destiny. On that day, underneath a strapline telling its readers that this was its 7am edition, the Mail gleefully announced ‘It’s No” in letters three inches high. I have kept the paper simply because that day it carried an article by me celebrating the positive effects of the independence campaign and how, in my opinion, it had changed Scotland for the better. In years to come when my lights are going out and I’m being fed liquidised carrots, this paper will remind me what I was doing on the most important day in Scotland’s history.

Of all the newspapers that covered the referendum in depth the Scottish Daily Mail was easily the most hostile to the idea of independence. It campaigned for the preservation of the Union as though its very existence depended on it, and perhaps it did. Yet, from time to time, it carried articles by me and others who passionately supported the opposite side. While I was expressing my delight at the way in which the referendum had been conducted there were others on its staff who were disdainful of the hoopla and who felt that the country had been unnecessarily divided by it all.

The Mail belongs to a privately-owned newspaper group and is under no obligation to remain neutral in any debate. It has an intimate knowledge of its readers’ personal, political and cultural preferences and these are reflected on almost every page of every edition. In this respect it is no different from The Observer, The Washington Post or The National. We may all purport to desire a Press that reports the facts and only the facts in a manner which gives equal weight to either side of the debate but presumably, most of us too would like to live in a world where lions lie down with lambs, where swords are beaten into ploughshares and where unicorns gallop about the place dispensing free bevvy to anyone who asks nicely.

During the referendum campaign and in its immediate aftermath I was privileged to be asked to write for several newspapers. All of them, including the Observer where most of my work appeared, were by degrees, supporters of the constitutional status quo. Each of them though, was happy for me regularly to state my reasons for supporting an independent Scotland. I was by no means alone. In all, I counted at least a dozen independence-supporting commentators who occupied the most prominent commentary slots in Unionist-supporting newspapers. The pattern of ownership of newspapers domiciled in Scotland may have been almost exclusively Unionist during the independence campaign but there were more pro-independence writers on their Comment pages than pro-Unionists.

Supporters of Scottish independence have long railed at the overwhelmingly Unionist character of the Scottish press, believing this to be unhealthy in a multi-party democracy. Yet short of nationalising the press and imposing strict rules on impartiality what is to be done? There are more than enough rich entrepreneurs who support an independent Scotland and who possess the means of forming a consortium with a view to establishing a pro-independence daily newspaper. The era though, when such a venture would return a big enough profit for their troubles has long passed. Each of the main UK newspaper groups were formed under the ownership of members of the UK aristocracy and Establishment at a time when printing mass circulation titles was financially rewarding. You might as well try to domesticate a saltwater crocodile than persuade them to give all sides of the political debate equal coverage.

Yet, in Scotland, something more organic and sustainable has occurred which is of more long-term value than persuading one of the ancient English newspaper titles to change its spots. The birth of several pro-independence and left-of-centre online products has enriched Scotland’s political journalism. Bella Caledonia, Wings Over Scotland, Common Space and Newsnet Scotland are the best of these. Crowd-funding and high quality writing have ensured that these are now permanent residents on the landscape of political reporting and commentary in Scotland. And, no matter what any of my fellow journalists in the mainstream media tell you, we are all avid readers of these sites. Many of us have been called out and held to account for our reporting and pontificating after decades in which only a select few on the letters pages were allowed to criticise us, and then only gently.

Newsquest, the publishers of The Herald and Evening Times group of newspapers went against the grain of accepted industry wisdom and founded The National. From the outset, this was intended to be Scotland’s only pro-independence daily newspaper and at a time when circulations in one of the world’s most competitive newspaper markets have reduced significantly it has remained viable and true to its original calling. I continue to be perplexed by the scorn and derision this newspaper has attracted from several pro-Union journalists, all of whom ought to know better. At a time when the print game is deemed to be dying a new product was launched providing employment opportunities for dozens of people directly and indirectly connected to the newspaper industry.

That industry, according to Optimal Economics in a study published yesterday, is worth more around £1billion to the Scottish economy annually. Wages, profits and other outlays made directly by the Scottish newspaper industry were calculated to be worth £214m and supported 4,300 jobs. The study, which was commissioned by the Scottish Newspaper Society also estimated that advertising in Scottish titles was worth around £775m. This included the boost in sales and profits of companies who advertised in Scottish titles.

It may miss as many targets as it gets but this old industry which shone a light on apartheid and exposed the thalidomide scandal continues to bring down dodgy governments, expose corrupt police forces and name corporate tax avoiders. It may indeed be entering the autumn of its permitted stretch but The Word, the medium which gave it birth and continues to sustain it will simply find another outlet. As those figures demonstrate though, newsprint is not going quietly into the night just yet.