Guardian Media Group in talks to sell Observer newspaper to Tortoise

LONDON (AP) — News publisher Guardian Media Group said Tuesday it is in talks to sell The Observer newspaper to Tortoise Media, a “slow news” outlet founded by a former BBC executive and a U.S. diplomat.

Founded in 1791, the Observer is the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world. In 1993, it was bought by the Guardian Media Group, which also publishes the Guardian.

Tortoise was founded in 2019 by James Harding, a former director of BBC News and editor-in-chief of The Times, and Matthew Barzun, who served as US ambassador to the UK from 2013 to 2017.

Tortoise has produced multimedia investigations, including the popular podcast Sweet Bobby, which is being adapted into a documentary available on Netflix.

The companies did not disclose the price or terms of the potential deal.

Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said the Tortoise deal “has the potential to be a very positive thing”.

“My top priority is a future in which both titles continue to thrive and deliver high-quality journalism to our readers,” she said.

Harding said the Observer “is one of the greatest titles in news.”

“We believe wholeheartedly in its future – in both print and digital,” he said, pledging to maintain the paper’s “uncompromising commitment to editorial independence, evidence-based journalism and journalistic integrity.”