It's spring sale time, and we've got one of our best-ever offers on the table – just £20 for a full year of access to The National online.
It's quite the deal. Thanks to the inflation of the past few years, £20 disappears pretty quickly. It very rarely gets you access to something for an entire year, and certainly not something that will keep you quite so informed.
I've now been in post for over a year, and I have to say I'm remarkably proud of the work our team has achieved in that time. When we look at the media landscape in Scotland, we truly can say that what we're offering is one-of-a-kind.
I'm proud to be helm of Scotland's only pro-independence daily paper. There is no doubt that the movement is in a difficult place. But through all of that we cover and often break the most important stories about our constitution, leading the conversation on this country's future. In this election year we will ensure that independence is at the core of everything we do, even when others fight so hard to keep it off the agenda.
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We'll be there, as we always have been, at the marches and rallies, conferences and grassroots events. And our top team of journalists, columnists and contributors will keep you informed on everything you need to know about the state of the Union.
In the past few months, we have also produced some high-quality specials and series. We marked 50 years of the McCrone Report. It wasn't all about looking backwards, but pulling together pieces warning of challenges, and solutions, in Scotland's energy future.
We also created a historic edition of The National last month. We put together our first edition (and the first Scottish paper in my lifetime) produced by an all-women team to mark International Women's Day. It was a brilliant experience, and helped to get untold stories out there in an innovative way.
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We're also fresh from publishing a week-long series exploring the issues around Scotland's new green freeports, exploring everything from how local residents fear a lack of information about them to why they could risk our European future. It was a packed series, digging deep into all the arguments. We have another series starting next week which links to another major concern for Scots right now – arms exports.
Because, of course, The National isn't only about independence and Scottish politics. We are a paper that constantly stands up for human rights and the voiceless. That kind of journalism is badly needed in a world where the privileged so often seem to be the ones in the spotlight, speaking on behalf of those who most need to be heard.
I've been particularly proud of our team's coverage of Israel's bombardment of Gaza. From our influential stories on Israel's use of state-owned Prestwick Airport, to our op-eds platforming the voices of those struggling in the West Bank, to the £100,000 we managed to raise thanks to our subscribers' hard work, we've been consistent when others sat on the fence. We know we need to use our platform as journalists responsibly at this significant moment.
The National's online presence is growing all the time, as more and more people feel their views are represented within our articles. Polls tell us around half of people want an independent Scotland, but their views are not reflected in the broader media. We see a huge majority of people want to be in the EU, and yet you'd barely know Brexit happened from much Scottish coverage. The same pattern is repeating on Gaza, as Scots see Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people for what they are but are failed by mainstream UK commentators.
We pride ourselves on having an array of voices represented in the pages of The National, from across the independence movement and beyond. I hope that you will consider supporting a media organisation that does things differently from the rest, that won't talk Scotland down, and see what else we have in store this year. It's the 10th anniversary of the independence referendum and this newspaper itself, so we'll have lots in store. If you'd like to support our work, please visit thenational.scot/subscribe today.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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