One Limited Run Newspaper Pop-up Is Doing So Well, They're Continuing Indefinitely

Print is dead? Nope.

The New European was originally printed a few months ago as a 4-week newspaper aimed at the 48% of Britons who voted against Brexit.

But it didn't end. Readers are still interested and buying. As the editor, Matt Kelly, told Nieman Lab:

"Readers are very passionate about the product. They take photographs of themselves reading it and post them on Twitter. They leave copies once they’re finished with them in doctors’ waiting rooms and bus stops for other people to read. Writers are very keen to engage with the project for a couple of reasons. One is that it’s a newspaper and the truth is that a lot of journalists and writers feel that there’s something special about print. Secondly, it’s a visible articulation of their values. If you’re associating yourself with The New European, you’re making it very clear that you’re pro-European and there’s no ambiguity about that position."

Kelly said that they haven't run out of content ("something fabulous to write about" each week), and they're selling on newsstands for 2 pounds, and have a 20k subscription base that pays 20 pounds for 13 weeks.

They're seen as the "voice for that community," Kelly said, and buyers can demonstrate their interest visibly with the paper in a way they can't with a website (although they do now have a website, too).

Another benefit of print, he said, was that print means money (unlike a paywall website), so they can pay writers, and they have had a lot of interest from writers who are interested in anti-Brexit association, and also in being printed.

They're currently planning to continue until at least the end of the year, which will help with advertising -- one of the flaws of the pop-up publishing model is advertisers aren't that interested in something so short-term. They're now getting ad revenue especially from companies and people interested in Brexit issues and demonstration organizers.

Part of the continued interest has to do with the larger trend toward nationalism, and they have featured Donald Trump many times in recent issues. They're also thinking of starting other pop-ups, including one for people who want to leave Europe, "the complete opposite of The New European."