Launch
Launched as a 32-page newspaper, and printed in tabloid format, The National was first published on Monday 24 November 2014, and according to its editor received an "amazing response" from readers, with its print-run for the following day's edition increased to 100,000.[11] The Press Gazette reported that 80,000 copies were produced on the third day, while 12,000 online digital subscriptions had been registered at a price of £1.50 per week.[24] Other sources, including The Guardian, and subsequently The National itself, put the online subscription figure at 11,000.[15][25] On 27 November, The Guardian reported that of the 100,000 copies printed on 25 November, unofficial sales figures indicated that only 50,000 had been sold, and that daily sales were stabilising at around the 50,000 mark.[15][26] Sales figures for the first Friday edition, published on 28 November, were reported as 40,000 by The Guardian, with an average daily sale for the first week of 44,000 copies. On 3 December, The Guardian reported that unofficial industry sales figures indicated 36,000 copies were sold for the Monday edition of the second week.[27] On 27 January 2015, The Guardian reported that daily sales had fallen to below 20,000—a figure consisting of around 15,000 print sales, with a further 2,500 to 3,000 digital subscriptions.[17] By 2017, ABC figures showed that the average daily sale of the print edition of The National was just 7,771 copies, and average readership of each digital edition was 1,975.[28] In February 2023, ABC reported daily paid circulation of 3,210 single copies and 345 subscriptions.[29]
On 27 November 2014, Newsquest announced plans for the Friday edition, published the following day, to be expanded to 40 pages to accommodate news coverage of the Smith Commission's report into increased devolution for Scotland, which was published on 27 November, and due to a large demand for space from advertisers.[30] The 28 November edition also included an editorial thanking readers for backing the new publication.[25] Speaking to The Guardian shortly after its launch, Walker said that the initial print run had been set as 30,000, but a last-minute decision was taken to double it, something he described as "in hindsight, a good decision".[31][32] The National's launch and success came at a time of general decline in the print media industry, where news providers were cutting staff and resources due to a downturn in newspaper sales. Douglas Beattie of the New Statesman and Alex Massie of The Spectator reported that copies of the first edition, which sold out, were being auctioned on eBay for at least £10.[33] The Financial Times reported that pro-independence campaigners used social media to help potential readers locate available copies of the paper when the first edition had sold out in many areas.
However, the launch was not without its problems when three major supermarkets did not stock copies. On launch day, Sainsbury's said that its tills had not been updated in time to enable them to sell the paper, but that it would begin doing so from the following day, while Tesco and Morrisons planned to monitor sales before deciding whether or not to stock it. Morrisons also said that it did not have the space to sell the newspaper without doing so at the expense of local titles.[35] On 27 November, The Guardian reported that the distribution issues had been resolved,[26] while STV News suggested the distribution problems were responsible for the fewer number of printed copies in the latter part of the launch week.[30] Stewart Kirkpatrick, the former digital chief of Yes Scotland noted that The National had no digital presence at the time of its launch, something that prompted him to observe "We're in the age of 'digital first' not 'digital when we get round to it'."[36]
The first edition of The National carried the headline "Give Scotland the powers to cut child poverty", an article in which charities urged the Smith Commission to devolve welfare powers to the Scottish Parliament.[37] The newspaper also included a mixture of national and international stories, with Libby Brooks of The Guardian noting the international coverage was "[stronger] than one is used to from a Scottish title [with] stories from Tunisia and Gaza as well as a profile of [Iranian President] Hassan Rouhani". There was also sport and business coverage, but the BBC's Jamie McIvor wrote of the first edition that "stories related to independence, Scottish politics and issues which featured in the referendum campaign characterise the news pages".[12] The newspaper's opening edition also set out its mission statement:
The status quo is no longer an option and there is an unquenchable desire for greater devolution. Quite simply, the Scottish people want to be more directly and deeply involved in the decisions that affect them and the generations to come. It is with this uppermost in mind that today we launch The National, a daily newspaper that will fly a vibrant flag for independence and the right for Scots to govern themselves.[38]
