The Independent relaunches

The Independent has relaunched today, with a new daily magazine section, Viewspaper, and a masthead promise of political and proprietorial freedom.

The relaunch follows the paper’s purchase by Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev for £1 in May.

The new look paper includes ads on around 18 of its 68 pages, for brands such as Ryanair, Alfa Romeo, Volvo, o2 and Sure deodorant, with one single page display ad, for Fiat.

The 20 page Viewspaper section, which includes “opinion, award-winning commentary, more space for your letters, the finest writing on cultural matters, a daily essay and in-depth features”, has no ads in today’s edition.

Towards the back of the main paper there are Living and Business sections, while arts reviews, TV listings and obituaries can now be found in the Viewspaper.

The design work was led by Cases and Associates of Barcelona, with the Sun font used in the main paper and Farnham and Clan headline fonts in the Viewspaper.

Towards the beginning of April, editor Roger Alton quit the Independent, and was replaced by managing director Simon Kelner until a new editor is found, probably after the general election.

According to ABC figures for March 2010, the Independent has a circulation of around 184,000 copies, down by around 10% on March 2009, although it remained relatively static month on month. The next set of ABC figures, for April, are live on MediaTel on 14 May, and could give an indication of whether the relaunch has been successful, although that will become more apparent when May’s figures are released.

The Daily Telegraph is the top selling title in the quality national newspaper sector, with a circulation of almost 687,000. The Financial Times (circulation 401,000) is the most expensive title in the sector at £2, with the rest costing £1.

Circulation, readership, editorial profiles and contact information for over 10,000 consumer, business, national and regional titles can be found in MediaTel’s Press database.