WHEN you pick up your National tomorrow, we can say – for the first time perhaps in newspaper history – that eight pages of it are not designed to be read by you, the person who has purchased the copy.
Those eight pages are packed full of facts about independence – and we wouldn’t be surprised if, knowing how well informed our readership is, you already know everything which we’ve included.
The supplement explains exactly why Scotland is Big Enough, Rich Enough and Smart Enough to be an independent country – and we know we don’t need to convince you of that.
READ MORE: Sturgeon backs The National's new 10,000 steps independence campaign
But we do need convince other people. So we want you to start a conversation with a neighbour, an old friend, a family member … somebody you know who hasn’t made up their mind about independence, and use our newspaper to spark that conversation.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has told the Yes movement to get out there and build a majority for Yes – and we’ve decided to take up the challenge.
We’ve only been able to launch this campaign thanks to the huge number of subscribers we’ve signed up in the past couple of months. But the number of newspaper readers who have taken out a subscription is still relatively low.
In fact, if only half the people who are reading this today in our print version were to take up a print subscription, then we would instantly be able to hire a video journalist, launch a Unionist fact-checker service, hire a journalist dedicated to local Yes groups and deliver 100,000 magazines about independence to every town in Scotland! You can phone 0141 302 7300 or visit www.national.scot/subscribe/today.
So let’s work together to have 10,000 conversations about independence this weekend. Our newspaper will have the facts you need to make the case – go out there a build a majority for Yes.
And, who knows, some of those people you have those conversations with might become new readers of The National – after reading the likes of our fantastic columnists Angus Robertson, Pat Kane and Kirsty Strickland – or our brilliant arts coverage, or our exclusive news stories.
And the more support and the more readers we have, the more we can help you win indyref2.
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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