How did readers react to the Observer relaunch?

It was goodbye to the horoscopes and hello to the New Review, but did the Observer readers like the newly relaunched and redesigned Sunday paper? You can see around 200 comments (at the time of writing) under editor John Mulholland’s introductory piece here. Guardian.co.uk editor Janine Gibson thanks users for feedback and assures them that all comments will be read. Stephen Pritchard, the readers’ editor also jumped straight in with some responses.

Here is some other Observer reaction as seen on Twitter:

“New observer is amazing – fashion, recipes, Chat articles, what polly vernon bought + a news section” (Robin Ince, comedian)

“It nearly achieved the impossible. selling a smaller product for same price. but very crowded esp review and the mag a mess..” (John Mair, Journalism lecturer)

“@nickcohen2 there’s no room for me! what’ll go in the pages that were full of AR this week btw? is it ≈ long columns by you?” (former Observer political editor, Gaby Hinsliff)

“The Observer have lost me as a reader, I have been buying this paper for as long as I can remember, but what they did yesterday was shameless” (LindaMarric, Labour supporter, student – and former reader)

“It’s interesting how the Observer‘s Brown story is snowballing when the relaunch seems designed to pave way for The New Review viewspaper” (Laura Slattery, journalist)

“The new Observer seemed to be almost entirely back to front. What were they thinking? Desperate Times indeed.” (Richard Cree, editor of Director Magazine)

I liked the new Observer – can they keep up the content though? (Andrew Howell)

First thing they teach you in editing school: mess with the horoscope at your peril. Do The Observer know something we don’t? (David Hepworth)

What did you think? Please leave your own thoughts below, or tweet to @journalismnews.

3 thoughts on “How did readers react to the Observer relaunch?

  1. Wood

    Thank you for restoring the TV pages. We really missed them as were having to buy some rubbish guide which told us all about the very uninteresting lives of `celebs` to know what was on TV.

  2. Adam Harris

    The Observer must assume that its readers are too stupid to notice the loss of two award winning magazines, Roasted, Kathryn Flett etc or maybe they just don’t give a damn.
    I have been an Observer reader for 25 years and will probably remain so until the bitter end, which I imagine will not be far away.

  3. BMW Wallpaper

    The Observer must assume that its readers are too stupid to notice the loss of two award winning magazines.
    I wish you, a wonderful old newspaper, the best of good fortune.

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