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Guardian and Observer journalists go on strike
Journalists at the Guardian and sister publication the Observer are holding a two-day strike in protest at the proposed sale of the Sunday newspaper to Tortoise Media.
The first strike at the Guardian in more than 50 years is taking place across Wednesday and Thursday (4 and 5 December).
Tortoise is run by former editor of the Times and ex-director of BBC News, James Harding.
A Guardian spokesperson said while they “recognise the strength of feeling” about the proposed sale and “appreciate that NUJ [National Union of Journalists] members wish to make their views heard”, they “do not believe a strike is the best course of action” at the present time.
“We have a plan in place to minimise the impact of strike action on staff, readers and subscribers and we will continue to publish online and produce the print edition as usual,” they continued.
UK readers may notice some differences to the Guardian’s daily website on Wednesday and Thursday, as a result of the strike, as well as in its print editions, the newspaper said.
NUJ members passed a motion last month stating that selling the Observer to Tortoise would be a “betrayal” of the commitment made by the Scott Trust, the Guardian Media Group (GMG)’s owners, to the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper.
If the sale goes ahead, Observer staff have been told they can take voluntary redundancy on enhanced terms or else transfer to Tortoise on the existing terms of their contracts.
In an email to staff, Anna Bateson, the managing director of GMG, confirmed “constructive talks [around the sale] will continue” in order “to protect Observer staff if this deal progresses”.
She added that freelance contracts would be extended until the end of September 2025 and then renegotiated.
‘Significant action’
Chair of the Scott Trust, Ole Jacob Sunde, reportedly told staff: “Throughout the process our goal has always been to do what is right for Guardian and Observer readers and staff so that both titles continue to promote liberal journalism and thrive long into the future.”
According to the Guardian, Sunde added that the Scott Trust would stay on as part-owner of the Observer in any such deal, and that the new owners would have to “embody the values of editorial independence, press freedom and liberal journalism”.
“I fully respect people’s rights to take industrial action,” Sunde continued.
NUJ general secretary-elect, Laura Davison, said the striking journalists “have the full backing” of the union as they “undertake this significant industrial action”.
“The massive vote to take this step shows journalists’ desire to publicly highlight to readers and those in charge their collective concerns about the future of the title,” she added.
She noted how the 233-year-old Sunday newspaper “holds a unique and important place in public life and our members care about the next chapter in its history”.
Harding has said his company’s proposed takeover offers the chance to invest in the title and extend its legacy.
It was revealed in September that Tortoise had approached the Guardian Media Group with an offer to invest around £25m over the next five years on the “editorial and commercial renewal” of the Observer.
A GMG spokesperson said: “We respect the right of NUJ members to strike. We continue to publish online and in print and are working to minimise the impact on staff and readers. Our priority is to make sure the Observer’s journalism continues to have a leading role in the liberal media landscape.”
Across 14 categories, 70 artists are nominated and those include some of the biggest names in UK music and beyond.
The winners will be announced at a star-studded ceremony at London’s O2 Arena on 1 March, hosted by Jack Whitehall.
Here are the nominations in full:
Artist of the year
Beabadoobee
Central Cee
Charli XCX
Dua Lipa
Fred Again
Jamie xx
Michael Kiwanuka
Nia Archives
Rachel Chinouriri
Sam Fender
Group of the year
Bring Me The Horizon
Coldplay
The Cure
Ezra Collective
The Last Dinner Party
Album of the year
Charli XCX – Brat
The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
Dua Lipa – Radical Optimism
Ezra Collective – Dance, No One’s Watching
The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy
Song of the year
Artemas – i like the way you kiss me
The Beatles – Now And Then
BL3SS x CamrinWatsin (feat. bbyclose) – Kisses
Central Cee (feat. Lil Baby) – BAND4BAND
Charli XCX Ft Billie Eilish – Guess featuring Billie Eilish
Chase & Status / Stormzy – Backbone
Coldplay – feelslikeimfallinginlove
Dua Lipa – Training Season
Ella Henderson (feat. Rudimental) -Alibi
JADE – Angel Of My Dreams
Jordan Adetunji- KEHLANI
KSI (feat Trippie Redd) – Thick Of It
Myles Smith – Stargazing
Sam Ryder – You’re Christmas To Me
Sonny Fodera/Jazzy/D.O.D – Somedays
Best new artist
English Teacher
Ezra Collective
The Last Dinner Party
Myles Smith
Rachel Chinouriri
International artist of the year
Adrianne Lenker
Asake
Benson Boone
Beyoncé
Billie Eilish
Chappell Roan
Kendrick Lamar
Sabrina Carpenter
Taylor Swift
Tyler, The Creator
International group of the year
Amyl and The Sniffers
Confidence Man
Fontaines D.C.
Future & Metro Boomin
Linkin Park
International song of the year
Benson Boone – Beautiful Things
Beyoncé – Texas Hold ‘Em
Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather
Chappell Roan – Good Luck, Babe!
Djo – End of Beginning
Eminem – Houdini
Hozier – Too Sweet
Jack Harlow – Lovin On Me
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen) – I Had Some Help
Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso
Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Taylor Swift (feat. Post Malone) – Fortnight
Teddy Swims – Lose Control
Tommy Richman – Million Dollar Baby
Best alternative/rock act
Beabadoobee
The Cure
Ezra Collective
The Last Dinner Party
Sam Fender
Best hip-hop/grime/rap act
Central Cee
Dave
Ghetts
Little Simz
Stormzy
Best dance act
Becky Hill
Charli xcx
Chase & Status
Fred again..
Nia Archives
Best pop act
Charli xcx
Dua Lipa
JADE
Lola Young
Myles Smith
Best R&B act
Cleo Sol
Flo
Jorja Smith
Michael Kiwanuka
Raye
Rising star
Winners: Myles Smith
Elmiene
Good Neighbours
Charli XCX leads this year’s Brit Awards with five nominations, including a nod for album of the year with Brat.
She is also nominated for artist of the year, best pop and dance act and song of the year with Guess, featuring Billie Eilish, which went to number one in August.
Her sixth studio album was released in June and grew into a cultural movement – Brat was crowned Collins Dictionary 2024 word of the year and it even reached US politics with presidential candidate Kamala Harris giving her social media a brat rebrand.
Seven-time Brit winner Dua Lipa has received four nominations including pop act which she won last year.
List of Brit nominations in full
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A fabulous range of films has been nominated for Academy Awards this year, from a shiny Broadway musical to a fact-based South American drama, from a rollicking farce about a stripper to an impressionistic period piece set in a Florida reform school. From a distance, it might appear as if the Academy’s voters had covered just about every genre and mood that cinema has to offer. But when you look closer, it’s remarkable how many of the nominees have something in common. In their own distinctive ways, these films take on contemporary issues with enough ferocious energy to make this one of the most political selections in the history of the Oscars.
In the case of The Apprentice, the political aspect is inescapable. Ali Abbasi’s film is a controversial biopic of newly inaugurated president Donald Trump, concentrating on his years as an aspiring real-estate mogul in New York. In October, Trump denounced the film as a “cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job”. The Academy seems to have liked the film: The Apprentice received two acting nominations, one for Sebastian Stan, who plays Trump himself, and one for Jeremy Strong, who co-stars as his mentor, Roy Cohn.
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