Exclusive: New National Newspaper Launched For British People "Dismayed By Brexit"

    The New European, published 8 July, is described as a "pop-up paper" that took Archant just nine days to conceive and get into newsagents.

    A new national newspaper is being launched in Britain, aiming to "give voice to those dismayed by Brexit".

    The New European will be published by Archant on 8 July and will cost £2. The publisher describes it as a "pop-up" paper, which took just nine days to get into newsagents after being conceived. It will initially run for just four issues, with any further print runs to be decided by reader interest.

    In a statement Archant said: "Every issue will be a collector’s item. After the Issue 4, every week’s sale will be a referendum on the next."

    The business model demonstrates the industry is attempting a new tactic following the failure of the last national newspaper to be launched, Trinity Mirror's the New Day, which shut two months after its first issue, despite a multimillion-pound TV advertising campaign. It was believed to be running at a loss of around £1 million annually.

    Matt Kelly, chief content officer of Archant and launch editor of the New European, said: “We are currently in an extraordinary period of time in the UK, with all of society seemingly in a state of flux and turmoil. I believe the 48% who voted to Remain are not well served by the traditional press and think there is a clear opportunity for a newspaper people will want to read and carry the New European like a badge of honour.

    “It will upset Michael Gove to hear that we value very highly expertise and have some of the world’s best brains in their areas writing for us. And it is also a politician-free zone. They are banned.”

    Archant said the paper’s retail distribution would be focused on London, Liverpool, Manchester, the south of England, "and other strongly Remain-voting areas".

    Among those writing in the first issue will be Tanit Koch, the editor of Bild, Saul Klein, a partner at British venture capital fund LocalGlobe, Wolfgang Blau, the former editor of Zeit Online and former digital director of The Guardian, Annabelle Dickson, leader of the Westminster political lobby for regional newspapers, and James Brown, the former Loaded and GQ editor.

    Kelly said: "It will be an eclectic and energetic mix of content – not just about the Brexit issue, but a celebration of why we love Europe so much in the first place. There’ll be plenty of humour in there too – god knows we could all use a laugh these days.”

    Will Hattam, Archant's chief media officer, said: “This isn't just another national newspaper, it's a new type of publishing product. As a pop-up publishing project this is a truly innovative approach to reaching new audience segments by extending our established expertise in creating high-quality, engaging content into new areas.

    "What's exciting is that the story of this paper isn't yet written – its sprung into life, driven by the events of the last few weeks, and will continue to serve its audience as long as they want it to. There's no ongoing commitment, just an opportunity to explore new boundaries in newspaper publishing."