New Pro-Independence Paper Trialled

A new newspaper which supports independence for Scotland is to be launched north of the border this week, it has been announced. Only one newspaper, the Sunday Herald, came out in favour of leaving the UK in the run-up to September's referendum. Sunday Herald editor Richard Walker revealed he will edit a new pro-independence daily newspaper called The National, which will go on sale on Monday. The title is being published by Newsquest, which already publishes the Herald, the Sunday Herald and the Evening Times in Scotland. But it will be on sale for a pilot period of five days, to allow the company to see if there is sufficient demand for such a paper. Mr Walker announced the launch at an SNP rally in Glasgow which was attended by more than 10,000 people. He told the audience none of the current daily newspapers that are on sale back independence, but that on Monday there will be one''. The editor added:That newspaper will be called The National and it will be brought to you by the team that brings you the Sunday Herald.'' The Sunday Herald say a massive surge in readership after it declared its backing for a Yes vote in the referendum, with sales peaking at about 50,000 on the Sunday after the ballot - an increase of 111% year on year. Two months later, circulation is said to be about 40% higher than it was 12 months ago Mr Walker told the audience at the rally: When the Sunday Herald declared its support for independence, we were overwhelmed by the support from people like you."Since then many of you have been asking 'why can we not produce a daily newspaper' and that's exactly what we're going to do from Monday.'' But he added: It's not all plain sailing. The company that owns our newspaper will do this and do it for an initial pilot of five days.We have five days to show that this newspaper can sell enough copies to give it a permanent future.'' He urged the crowd: Show our company that there is a market in Scotland for journalism that takes a passionate view and believes in a positive future Newsquest Scotland managing director Tim Blott said:It is the first time in many years that a new daily newspaper has been launched in Scotland." The National is an exciting opportunity to meet the needs of a very politically-engaged section of the Scottish population. We recognise that launching a newspaper in 2014 is to some extent counter-intuitive but we consistently argue for the power of great journalism and informed opinion."We will trial the new title in its proposed format for a week and if, as anticipated, it takes off then it will become a new and dynamic fixture in Scottish publishing.''