Warning: some content in both of the sites linked to contains the strongest of swearwords and other adult material

As reported here in Monday’s Guardian (incidentally the Indy’s main rivals), and confirmed in an advert in today’s edition, the Independent newspaper (www.independent.co.uk) is being relaunched this Tuesday, with a (very suave looking) new design, and new emphasis. It’ll also be given the unique selling-point of having strong European emphasis, geared towards those who travel to the continent often.

The Guardian’s article, entitled “hanging onto a dream”, casts serious doubts over the paper’s ability to survive, and many are not misplaced. It’s circulation is the lowest among the broadsheets, around half that of the Guardian (which is hardly a best-seller itself ). And it’s fair comment that buyers are unsure quite what the Indy is – I thought it was a Times-alike until I started trying other papers regularly out of sheer exasperation with The Guardain. It has an impassively open-minded outlook and it's quite brilliant columnists, such as Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Deborah Orr and David Aaronovitch, who’s articulate and incisive writing is among the best I’ve read, coupled with the fact it really does strive to report with a genuine independence, have marked it out for me as being something quite special among the rest of the national press.

So for anyone out there who might be interested in the restyled paper, here’s a little recommendation to give it a try come Tuesday. The Guardian commented “The dream turned out to be just that, a dream” – but hopefully this particular dream can be made to succeed.

(Edited by Byron 06/04/2002 16:52)