Written and edited by Archie Bland with assistant editor Nimo Omer, the Guardian’s free First Edition newsletter takes a close look at one important topic or news event – similar to the Guardian’s daily news podcast Today in Focus – while also offering readers a selection of the day’s key stories from across the Guardian. The newsletter goes beyond an urgent summary of the headlines to include original reporting and a sharp analysis of global news events, built around a sense of conversation and community, say the publishers.
First Edition opens with a message from Archie or Nimo every weekday morning, followed by ‘five big stories’ for readers that are short of time. The heart of the newsletter takes an in-depth look at one significant story; from original reporting or analysis of a late breaking news event, to an interesting perspective readers may not have heard before or a Q&A with a Guardian journalist or expert that goes behind a developing story. The newsletter will also feature ‘what else we’re reading’, providing First Edition readers with recommendations of non-news Guardian journalism, and ‘the upside’ for positive stories they might have missed.
Archie Bland, editor of First Edition, has held various editor and deputy editor roles across national, foreign news and features, and has been an executive producer on the Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast. Nimo Omer, First Edition’s assistant editor, is a news journalist who has worked in audio, newsletters and digital publishing.
You can read the first newsletter from the First Edition team here.
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media, says: “Newsletters play an important part in how we communicate with readers, showcasing the breadth and depth of the Guardian’s global journalism and deepening the engagement and relationships we have with readers. Our new newsletters team are working across various editorial departments and have exciting and ambitious plans for this fast-evolving format.”
“First Edition is set to be a must-read in peoples’ inboxes, combining original analysis of major news events with all the ideas and expertise that inspire the Guardian and its journalism. I’m excited to see what Archie, Nimo and the team produce for readers in the coming weeks.”
Archie Bland, editor of the Guardian’s First Edition newsletter, says: “I’m thrilled to be writing the Guardian’s new First Edition newsletter and to become a part of our readers’ morning routines. My hope is that First Edition will feel like a regular update from a well-informed friend: informal and insightful, leaving people with nuggets of knowledge they remember when they next see the big news stories of the day, or something they’ll want to pass off as their own in the pub later that night.”
The Guardian publishes nearly 50 newsletters globally. The publisher says it is currently refreshing its suite of newsletters to make them more compelling and easier to discover for readers, with updated designs and new formats.
Alongside First Edition, the Guardian has launched and refreshed ten other newsletters over the past year: TechScape, a weekly newsletter from the Guardian’s UK tech editor, Alex Hern; Down to Earth, a weekly environment newsletter from the Guardian’s climate crisis correspondents; Inside Saturday, featuring stories from the Guardian’s Saturday magazine every weekend; The Guide, an irreverent take on pop-culture every Friday; Pushing Buttons, a weekly update from the Guardian’s video games editor, Keza MacDonald; Hear Here, a curated weekly podcast newsletter; and Moving the Goalposts, a new women’s football newsletter. Plus, Her Stage, a monthly email from women around the world on the issues that matter most to them; Five Great Reads featuring book recommendations from Guardian Australia; and Winter Olympics, a daily newsletter that ran throughout the Games.
Toby Moses, head of newsletters, Guardian News & Media says: “Newsletters are far more than a simple extension of our journalism. Similar to our Today in Focus podcast, we see First Edition as a powerful journalistic tool to communicate thoughtfully and originally with Guardian readers on a regular basis, offering people a direct point of contact with our journalists.”
“Newsletters are also a huge team effort that extends beyond the editorial content to the optimisation and design of our entire portfolio. A lot of work has happened behind the scenes in the past few months and I’m excited to help develop First Edition, alongside the Guardian’s wider newsletter offering, in the coming weeks and months.”
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