News International reportedly seeking to copy the Independent’s “i” offshoot
The surprising success of Alexander Lebedev’s cheap and cheerful “i” newspaper has caught the attention of Fleet Street press barons according to the guardian, which reports that News International is working up ideas for a new title of its own.
Former Sun deputy editor Fergus Shanahan is said to be heading up a project team beavering away from the publishers Wapping HQ on a direct competitor to the compact paper.
Although no launch is imminent rumours have been circulating that a putative 10p title, possibly called “the Daily” could be in the offing in a bid to tap into a pool of lapsed readers who do not wish to pay £1 for reams of paper.
I has grown to dominate the mid market sector within the newspaper industry largely thanks to a celebrity endorsed advertising campaign which saw Jemima Khan and Dom Jolly flaunt their I reading habits for the cameras.
This saw readership jump from 60,000 to 175,000, establishing Lebedev as a force in publishing.