The Isle of Wight Observer is a free newspaper published on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. It was launched on 10 August 2018 in a tabloid format, and is distributed through supermarkets and other outlets across the island. It is regulated by

IMPRESS The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS) is an independent press regulator in the UK. It was the first to be recognised by the Press Recognition Panel. Unlike the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), IMPRESS is fully compliant ...

. The editor is Carole Dennett (the former partner and parliamentary assistant of the island's previous MP, Andrew Turner). Since 2019, it has operated through the company IW Observer Ltd, of which Miss Dennett is listed as the sole director. Prior to this, it operated through the company Isle of Wight Observer Ltd, which had Martin Potter as a director alongside her. Mr Potter is a former owner, editor and publisher of Island Life Magazine. When it launched, Potter told the Press Gazette that: "For the past 134 years the

Isle of Wight County Press The ''Isle of Wight County Press'' is a local, compact newspaper published every Friday on the Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated ...

has been the only substantial newspaper on the island and we are trying to provide an alternative to it, not compete with it.” The decision to set up the Observer came after a complaint Dennett made against the Isle of Wight County Press was rejected by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). She had accused the paper of inaccuracy, harassment and breach of privacy. In its ruling, IPSO said that the stories carried by the paper covered matters of “significant public interest” and constituted “legitimate comment.”

Earlier title

There was a title of the same name which was a regional newspaper based in

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

. It had a main run of 3,327 editions from 1852 to 1922. It was founded by Ebenezer Hartnall in December 1845; but on 27 June 1846, after thirty issues had been published, he ceased publication, perhaps due to a combination of low sales, stamp duty and the tax on advertisements. George Butler, an apprentice of Hartnall, relaunched the newspaper in 1900, and it then ran continuously for between 70 years. George Butler continued to publish the paper until 1865. After this, until 1893, Hannah Butler is listed in Mitchell's Press Directory as the Proprietress. The paper continued publication until 1922, when it was incorporated into the Isle of Wight Times.

References

List of newspapers in the United Kingdom Twelve daily newspapers and eleven Sunday-only weekly newspapers are distributed nationally in the United Kingdom. Others circulate in Scotland only and still others serve smaller areas. National daily newspapers publish every day except Sunday ...

Publications disestablished in 1900 1852 establishments in England Publications established in 1823 Publications established in 2018 Newspapers published on the Isle of Wight {{England-newspaper-stub