Guardian and Observer strike explained amid takeover bid

93% of journalists voted in favour of strike action on 4-5 December and 12-13 December.

Here's what you need to know.

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• Get a whole year of The Herald for £20 in our Black Friday sale

• Guardian Media Group in talks to sell Observer newspaper to Tortoise Media

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  Journalists to strike over planned sale of Observer newspaper

Why is the strike happening?

Staff will walk out over plans to sell The Observer to Tortoise Media.

Who are Tortoise Media?

The Tortoise Media logo (Image: Tortoise Media)

The group was founded by former BBC News director and Times editor James Harding, alongside the former US ambassador to the UK, Matthew Barzun.

It focuses on 'slow journalism' - hence the name - with investors including venture capitalist Saul Klein and President of International for Bank of America Bernard Mensah.

Why is the proposed sale so controversial?

Both the Guardian and Observer are owned by Guardian Media Group and, ultimately, the Scott Trust.

The trust was set up to "secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity", and acquired the Observer in 1993.

The Scott Trust articles of association require it to maintain editorial independence, but it's believed management argue the above commitment to the Guardian, relating to financial independence, does not apply to its sister title.

Amid falling revenues for GMG, it's looking to offload the Sunday newspaper.

However, the Observer made around £3m in profit in its latest accounts although that does not include some shared costs with the Guardian.

Tortoise, meanwhile, is a loss-making start-up which lost £4.6m in its latest set of accounts and was running at a deficit of over £16m.

Critics of the sale doubt whether Tortoise has either the resources or the experience to run the paper, with staff saying they were not properly consulted on the sale.

Around 70 journalists employed by the Observer would transfer over, with fears for their long-term job security given the proposed buyer's loss-making history.

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the European Federation of Journalists, Index on Censorship, International Press Institute and OBC Transeuropa have expressed concerns over whether other buyers were sought.

Six former editors or editors-in-chief published an open letter protesting against the sale, while restaurant critic Jay Rayner said the proposed sale was among his reasons for leaving for the Financial Times.

Why is GMG looking to do the deal?

It says that, when shared costs with the Guardian are taken into account, the Observer is loss-making.

Chief executive Anna Bateson told staff in an email that GMG had been "beginning to think about" its long-term future before the bid from Tortoise, and that if a sale is not completed there would be a "strategic audit of the Observer which would involve some difficult choices".

What has the union said?

The NUJ motion said: "The Guardian and Observer chapel believes the Scott Trust has betrayed its principles and prior commitments in agreeing to talks with a third party about the sale of the Observer newspaper. 

"A short-term decision based on flawed analysis puts members of our chapel at risk. The decision also has wider ramifications for the future of liberal journalism and the trust's ability to protect the Guardian, the Observer and liberal journalism in perpetuity. 

"We therefore, and with huge regret, must express that we have no confidence in the Scott Trust and its trustee members to pursue the trust's mandate."

What have Tortoise said?

The company says it is saving the Observer from "irrelevance".

A statement said: "We want to save The Observer.  Everyone can see it is heading down a path to irrelevance and, probably sooner rather than later, closure. In the last 15 years, sales on a Sunday are down 70 per cent, the staff has shrunk by more than 60 per cent, the paper no longer has foreign, business or sports coverage of its own; home news is likely to be next; how long do you think The Guardian will keep two sets of critics reviewing the same plays, films, art and music? The Observer is a print-only brand in a digital age, its journalism lives, briefly and unloved, on The Guardian website.  

“We have heard from a lot of Observer journalists who are excited about our ambition for the paper – the people with digital skills, the money for new staff jobs and a bigger editorial budget and the plan for growth that we bring.  They also know the Guardian’s plan for ‘an urgent audit’ of The Observer if the deal doesn’t go ahead is code for folding it in or closing it down.  

“We want to work with the unions, but we don’t think they’re right to defend things staying as they are. The path of managed, accelerating decline is not the answer.  The majority of people who have voted in this ballot don’t work on the paper and this deal doesn’t directly affect them.  

“We hope the NUJ will listen to the growing number of voices on The Observer looking to see it given a new lease of life, investment in journalism and a plan for the future.”

What has the Guardian said?

A Guardian spokesperson said: “We recognise the strength of feeling about the proposed sale of the Observer and appreciate that NUJ members wish to make their views heard. While we respect the right to strike, we do not believe a strike is the best course of action in this case and our talks with the NUJ continue."