BIG Enough, Rich Enough, Smart Enough – this weekend The National asks you to help make the case for independence , one conversation at a time.
Saturday’s edition of this newspaper will feature a special eight-page feature packed with the arguments and facts we think help lay out the rationale for Scottish independence – and that challenge the “too wee, too poor, too stupid” rhetoric so often used against the Yes side.
Our Big Enough, Rich Enough, Smart Enough campaign will ask each one of our readers to buy an extra copy to give to one of their friends, neighbours, colleagues or contacts – anyone with questions about why they should say Yes to independence.
We hope that this will spark 10,000 conversations across the country that address the myths and misinformation about what this country is capable of. And, crucially, build the case for indyref 2.
This weekend’s production is the first in what will be a monthly series – and we believe it could be a game-changer.
Of the course of that run, we’ll examine the major issues around the constitutional debate, building to a body of evidence we don’t think any voter can ignore.
And all material produced available for Yes groups to use whenever and wherever they like.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has signalled her desire to hold this vote in the “latter half” of 2020.
In an official campaign released in April, she said: “You know we can do so much better than this. Go and get your jacket. It’s time.”
Launching The National’s new push, editor Callum Baird said: “The First Minister is on a campaign footing, and so are we. This Saturday, get your jacket on, pick up an extra copy of The National and share it with someone you know has questions about the country’s future, and needs answers.
“It’s time to have those face-to-face conversations that will win it for Yes in the villages, towns and cities that will benefit from that constitutional change.
“While the Tories work out who they’ll choose to be our next prime minister, we’ll be out there looking to a positive future in which Scotland has a real say in who governs us.”
And, as we know it takes people power to make real change happen, we want to hear from you. Share your pictures and stories from those key conversations with us by sending them to community@thenational.scot, and tell us your ideas for future editions.
As the week proceeds, we’ll be releasing more details about what you can expect.
The full-colour feature will run through much of what makes Scotland great – and capable of running its own affairs.
Callum said: “This campaign has been possible by you, the readers of The National, by backing the country’s only independence-supporting daily newspaper. With your help, we’ll take the message to homes, cafes, offices and parks and build a Yes majority.”
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A Message From Our Editor // Callum Baird
What’s the best way to convince Scotland that independence will deliver our brightest future?
It’s all about making the right arguments, at the right time, to the right people.
And of course there’s more than one way to do that. At The National, we believe that our front pages, our exclusive stories, our brilliant writers and our strong digital reach are all ways that we can take the best possible Yes message to hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland.
But we also believe that there is no substitute for a one to one conversation with a trusted friend.
So that’s why this weekend we are launching our innovative new “Big Enough, Rich Enough, Smart Enough” campaign.
We want to create 10,000 different new conversations about independence, right across Scotland, every month – starting this Saturday.
We are printing special fact-based supplements, targeted not at our usual readership but at undecided voters, inside every copy of The National.
We want our readers to buy an extra copy, give it to somebody who hasn’t made up their mind on Scotland’s future, and use your newspaper to start a new conversation about independence.
The first of these monthly supplements is just called “Big Enough, Rich Enough, Smart Enough” – and uses clear and simple facts why Scotland is perfectly placed to be a thriving independent nation.
The National isn’t content to wait for the starting gun on indyref2 to be fired. We want to start building our majority for independence now.
So pick up an extra copy of Saturday’s paper, start a conversation with an undecided voter – and let’s make the case.
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The National launches '10,000 Steps' Independence Campaign
When we launched our new “10,000 Steps to Independence” project last month, we promised our readers that for every 1000 people who signed up to a National subscription, we would invest in the campaign for independence and help YOU win indyref2.
We set ourselves ambitious targets – but we’re already well the way to achieving them. We smashed through our first target of 6000 subscribers within a few days of our campaign launch.
That’s why we’ve been able to launch our “Big Enough, Rich Enough, Smart Enough” campaign today.
But we want to do more. When we reach 7000 subscribers – and we’re only a 100 or so away – we will invest in a video journalist for the Yes movement. At 8000, we’ll launch a Unionist fact-checker service. At 9000, we’ll employ a digital journalist specifically to work with local groups. When we hit 10,000 we’ll send 100,000 glossy magazines to every town in Scotland.
And if we do reach 10,000 – we are confident in saying The National will have completely bucked the trend in our industry, creating a completely sustainable product while all of Scotland’s other newspapers face challenging circumstances.
And that’s all thanks to you. Sign up today to support us and we’ll help you deliver independence.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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