When we set out last year to buy The Observer with a promise to renew it, we were teased by the Economist. They wrote a piece to say we had a big new idea for the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper. It’s called the internet.
Well, they were right. From today, for the first time in its 233-year history, you can buy The Observer any day of the week. You can subscribe daily online and, of course, still buy the paper every Sunday.
What’s different about The Observer is that it has always cared as much about culture and society as it does about politics and the state of the world. George Orwell, who wrote for the paper, called it “the enemy of nonsense”. These days, we feel it’s more needed than ever. And I hope you’ll also love what I do about The Observer – that it offers the best writing on the arts and ideas, food and drink. That it’s an invitation to make the most of your time.
We hope you’ll think it’s time well spent. Whether you’re reading, listening to our podcasts or watching our films, you’ll get the pleasure of thinking, the power of understanding and the delight of finding new things to enjoy. (If you’re under 35, it’s half price. You may not have The Observer habit, but if you give it a try – it’s just £1 for the first month – I’d like to think that you’ll feel better able to make sense of the world and make more of your life.)
We’ve got much to learn and improve, so please let me know how we can do that.
On Thursday 4 December, The Observer will celebrate its 234th birthday. Just in time, it is also becoming something new. A paper on Sundays, digital daily – and still true to the promise it made in 1791 to share all species of knowledge “that may conduce to the happiness of society”. We hope it adds to yours.