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| Guardian editor: EU vote is first time most of UK press is against Cameron | Guardian editor: EU vote is first time most of UK press is against Cameron |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| The EU referendum is an “interesting time politically” because David Cameron is facing opposition from the majority of the press for the first time, the Guardian editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, has said. | The EU referendum is an “interesting time politically” because David Cameron is facing opposition from the majority of the press for the first time, the Guardian editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, has said. |
| Viner said the Guardian was one of the few newspapers in favour of voting to stay in the EU in the 23 June referendum, although some of its columnists have backed an exit. | Viner said the Guardian was one of the few newspapers in favour of voting to stay in the EU in the 23 June referendum, although some of its columnists have backed an exit. |
| “The vast majority of newspapers are for Brexit, the Guardian isn’t,” Viner told the Newsworks conference in London on Tuesday. “It’s a very interesting time politically because it’s the first time David Cameron will have had the mass of the press against him rather than for him.” | “The vast majority of newspapers are for Brexit, the Guardian isn’t,” Viner told the Newsworks conference in London on Tuesday. “It’s a very interesting time politically because it’s the first time David Cameron will have had the mass of the press against him rather than for him.” |
| Related: A largely pro-Brexit press could be significant if polls are close | Related: A largely pro-Brexit press could be significant if polls are close |
| The UK’s two biggest-selling print titles, the Daily Mail and the Sun, have been relentlessly anti-EU, with the former last month publishing a front-page comment titled “Who will speak for England?” that urged the UK to leave. | The UK’s two biggest-selling print titles, the Daily Mail and the Sun, have been relentlessly anti-EU, with the former last month publishing a front-page comment titled “Who will speak for England?” that urged the UK to leave. |
| The number of print titles expected to come out in support of staying in the EU will shrink further later this month when the Independent ceases printing. | |
| Viner said it is “quite hard to prove” whether newspapers would have a decisive impact on voting. However, she said the UK press had more influence on people’s lives than in other countries because it was “much nosier, faster and mischief-making”. | Viner said it is “quite hard to prove” whether newspapers would have a decisive impact on voting. However, she said the UK press had more influence on people’s lives than in other countries because it was “much nosier, faster and mischief-making”. |
| Viner, who set up the Guardian’s Australian operation and was also editor-in-chief of the Guardian US, said she had missed the “brilliant” British press when she was working abroad. | Viner, who set up the Guardian’s Australian operation and was also editor-in-chief of the Guardian US, said she had missed the “brilliant” British press when she was working abroad. |
| “You take it for granted when you live and work here how brilliant it is,” she said. “There was a moment when I got to Sydney that I really missed the Daily Mail to respond to, missed that tension.” | “You take it for granted when you live and work here how brilliant it is,” she said. “There was a moment when I got to Sydney that I really missed the Daily Mail to respond to, missed that tension.” |
| Asked why there is a sense of gloom about the newspaper industry despite organisations such as the Guardian reaching more people than ever, Viner said commercial models were being “undermined at all points”. | Asked why there is a sense of gloom about the newspaper industry despite organisations such as the Guardian reaching more people than ever, Viner said commercial models were being “undermined at all points”. |
| “Journalistically it is an absolutely brilliant time,” she said. “You can get stories in loads of more ways, you can tell stories in more interesting ways, you can reach more people, you can hit people on their phones and laptops. | “Journalistically it is an absolutely brilliant time,” she said. “You can get stories in loads of more ways, you can tell stories in more interesting ways, you can reach more people, you can hit people on their phones and laptops. |
| “At the same time, the commercial model is undermined at all points, fewer people are buying newspapers, advertising is leaving print newspapers, digital advertising is going to Facebook and Google – quite dramatically so in the last year.” | “At the same time, the commercial model is undermined at all points, fewer people are buying newspapers, advertising is leaving print newspapers, digital advertising is going to Facebook and Google – quite dramatically so in the last year.” |
| She said the Guardian was focused on converting loyal readers into paying members, although it would not put up a paywall. | She said the Guardian was focused on converting loyal readers into paying members, although it would not put up a paywall. |