The Islander
 | |
| Type | Weekly |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact |
| Owner(s) | Lüscher SA |
| Editor | Zigmùnt König |
| Staff writers | 14 |
| Founded | 1 June 1938 |
| Political alignment | Regionalism Social democracy Populism |
| Language | Ostric, Weranic |
| Headquarters | Eriksztadt |
| Country | Werania |
| Website | www.wespiorz.os |
The Islander (Ostric: Wëspiôrz; Weranic: Der Inselbewohner) is a weekly newspaper, published on the island of Ostry, in Werania. Owned and published since 1998 by Lüscher SA, The Islander has a circulation of around 10,000 in 2019, being the dominant source of news media in Ostry. The newspaper prints articles in both Ostric and Weranic.
History
The Islander was first founded in 1938 as the Weranic-language Erichstädter Beobachter, with Hans König as its first editor. Initially seeing low sales within the minority Weranic population, the paper re-branded as a bilingual localized daily under its current name in 1944. By the 1950s, it had become the dominant source of news media on Ostry, and has since formed its current regionalist and local stances through this monopoly. It lowered its circulation to once a week in 1984 after financial issues, and in 1998 was purchased by Lüscher SA. Today, it maintains a circulation of around 12-10,000, and launched its own website in 1999.
Structure
The Islander organizes itself into six sections, with both Ostric and Weranic-language articles published in all sections.
- The cover, with current news.
- Local news.
- Lifestyle, including financial news.
- Weranic and global news.
- Sports.
- Politics, including mainly Weranic and Euclean affairs.
In Weranic and foreign media, The Islander has at times been mocked for a lack of editing and proofreading, leading to a reputation for rushed articles and above-average grammatical mistakes.
Stances
Although beginning as a conservative newspaper, The Islander had by the mid-1980s come to support the Social Democratic Radical Party of Werania, and since the granting of devolved powers to Ostry in 1986, has traditionally supported the Ostric branch of the SRPO. Weranic media has called The Islander "social democratic with a populist bent, heavily involved with Ostric regional rights, and soft-unionist", typically calling for further devolution rather then independence.
The newspaper had a deeply antagonistic relationship with former Chancellor Dietrich Wittmann during his term, with Wittmann successfully suing The Islander for €200,000 in damages after a 2010 article by Zigmùnt König stated the Chancellor was "better off dead then at [Palais] Beinhoff".