Launched in July 2016 in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum vote, The New European was initially set up as a pop-up print experiment and was taken independent by its founder and a group of angel investors in late 2021.
As part of its new branding as The New World, the magazine, which covers politics and culture, has been given a new look to better reflect its expanding global news content.
The redesigned 48pp magazine, printed on super-bright newsprint, has a cover price of £4.95 and is available across the UK, Ireland and selected European capitals.
Now printed on 60gsm paper, an increase from 48gsm before, it is now also trimmed and stitched for a “sharper look”, according to editor-in-chief Matt Kelly.
Kelly told Printweek that the new look follows extensive testing, with a new format to better reflect its magazine style, leaving a final product with “a nice feel in the paper” that also “makes a lovely sound”.
“Cheaper news print doesn’t last so well, this feels crisp and sharp for longer. A lot of people save the editions, so it’s important they keep a certain quality,” added Kelly.
He said the improved format better reflects the “quality of journalism”, with a string of new contributing editors announced in the rebrand, including Sonia Sodha, formerly of The Observer, Moisés Naím and Tom Balwin who will join the existing group of writers.
The publication has managed to buck a downward trend in UK print media, having tripled its revenue since 2022 and quadrupled paying subscriptions.
Currently the magazine boasts 12,000 print subscribers and around 4,500 print retail sales each week with a print run of roughly 32,000, according to Kelly. It is published independently and printed by Reach at its Watford site.
Kelly told Printweek that there remains “an appetite for what we do”.
“We are clearly aimed against populism and right-wing nationalism, people appreciate we are very direct about that,” he said.
Explaining the rebrand, Kelly said the problems over Brexit have spread into more global issues and the title better fits the global themes that the title has been covering for a while now. The New World reflects a “concerted attempt to cover more areas of the globe” including Asia, Africa and Latin America, and tell stories that Kelly believes are “hugely underreported in the UK”.
Editor-at-large of the publication, Alastair Campbell, said that it would seek to tackle the sorts of themes that underpinned the Brexit vote, that he now sees playing out around the world in the shift to the right in many countries.
