The National:

This week’s Behind the Headlines comes from editor Laura Webster. To receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every week for free, click here.

THIS week I announced three new regular contributors had joined the team - Owen Jones, Caitlin Logan and Rhoda Meek. 

It's the second batch of changes I've made to our columnist line-up since last year, when I announced STUC general secretary Roz Foyer, Scottish Greens activist Ellie Gomersall, SNP and disability campaigner Kelly Given, and French-Scottish journalist Assa Samake-Roman as regular writers. I also introduced a rotating Alba column (as the Greens have had for years), and brought on Kate Forbes following the SNP leadership contest.

Caitlin Logan has been a great source for writing on social justice and inequality. Rhoda Meek has offered insightful pieces on island issues, Gaelic and challenges faced by rural communities.

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Through a diverse range of contributors, I've tried to directly address criticisms The National has faced in the past - that the columnists were majority male, that the SNP view is too dominant, that the content has a Central Belt bias.

I don't think I've ever seen as much of a furore over any of our announcements as I did this week when I announced Owen Jones as a contributor. That the move got people talking was not a surprise. The amount of vitriol, however, was.

So, why have I commissioned Owen Jones to write for our pro-independence paper? There are a number of reasons. I'm going to address some of those here.

Complaint 1: "Owen Jones is a Unionist"

In 2014 Owen was anti-independence, yes. Like many people his position has changed over the years. He now says it's really for Scotland to decide, and understands why people want to leave.

I asked Owen to sum up his view on independence as of January 2024, and he told me: "I passionately believe it’s the basic democratic right of the Scottish people to determine their own future, which is why there can be no blocking of any referendum when their elected representatives choose to hold one. No wonder so many Scots have had enough: A so-called ‘United Kingdom’ which has become defined by injustice and insecurity is to blame."

Critics say The National can only communicate with people who already back independence. What better way to address that than by commissioning someone who isn't a firm Yes or a firm No?

Complaint 2: "Owen Jones is a London journalist"

Owen is not always going to write about Scotland. He is an award-winning journalist who tackles all kinds of topics. I believe our Scottish readers are interested in those topics too. They don't ONLY want to read about Scotland.

I also want The National to be read by people outside of Scotland. I want people in the rest of the UK to understand Scotland more, for our successes to be seen and recognised better. To gain more support for our cause. Being insular will not achieve that.

Owen wrote for us a few times last year and I was really impressed with his contributions. He wrote on the SNP leadership contest, problems with Keir Starmer's Labour party and finally on Humza Yousaf's leadership on the situation in Gaza. Going forward, Owen will be tackling a whole range of subjects and if you have particular issues you'd like to see him address, please just drop me an email.

Ultimately, people not going to like every single writer. There are columnists who reflect differing views, as all newspapers should have. If you agreed with every columnist it would be a very boring newspaper.

I'm really excited by our three new writers and think they make a wonderful addition to the team.

You can read Owen every two weeks from Saturday, Rhoda every Sunday in the Seven Days supplement, and Caitlin every Tuesday from this week.