'Unbiased' Independent re-launches with election-focused campaign

The Independent newspaper has been officially re-launched today (April 20th), with a new campaign that aims to make it the unbiased paper of the election.

According to the Press Gazette, its new slogan "free from proprietorial influence" is intended to quell fears about the newspaper's new direction since its acquisition by former KGB officer Alexander Lebedev.

The magnate, who re-launched the Evening Standard as a free paper, purchased the Independent for a nominal sum of one pound three weeks ago.

It will now have a new section called Viewspaper, a 20-page addition which will feature regular items such as arts reviews, obituaries, television schedules, as well as new features such as a "best of the web" round-up.

Speaking to the Guardian yesterday, acting editor Simon Kelner said that the newspaper had a "budget of millions" to work with.

In a bid to move away from the paper's last re-launch, the famously calamitous single-issue headlines have been replaced in favour of a more considered approach, reports the Gazette.

New figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported that the circulation of the Independent dropped by 10.3 per cent in March.

Posted by Stanley Jack

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