The editor of the ill-fated The New Day newspaper signed off with a bizarre letter to readers (and critics) in its final issue

Lara O'Reilly

May 6, 2016, 15:42 IST

The New Day

The New Day's final front page splash.

UK publisher The Trinity Mirror's latest national newspaper experiment, The New Day, came to a sudden end on Friday just nine weeks after the first edition was printed, after it failed to meet sales expectations.

The paper's editor Alison Phillips bowed out with some sass in her final editor's letter.

Here it is in full, via this tweet from BuzzFeed UK weekend editor Michael Champion:

editor's letter from final edition of New Day. is there some subtext I'm missing, or.... pic.twitter.com/KrDeKBJBBr
- Matthew Champion (@matthewchampion) May 6, 2016

The line that caused some contention on Twitter this morning is this one (emphasis ours):

"Yesterday there were commentators blah-ing about hwo it was ridiculous to launch a paper in this day and age. Or criticising what we produced, how we produced it, marketed it and delivered it. And that's fine. Everyone should be entitled to an opinion. And euthanasia."

In which an editor suggests those who criticise her paper should have access to euthanasia. https://t.co/pZiecTV8iD
- Patrick Strudwick (@PatrickStrud) May 6, 2016

@jamesrbuk no, don't be silly, it just reads as though she wants them all to kill themselves
- Tom Chivers (@TomChivers) May 6, 2016

@jamesrbuk yes I suppose I read it as assisted suicide rather than Nazi-style forced euthanasia, but either way you're not working alone
- Tom Chivers (@TomChivers) May 6, 2016

lmao the New Day sign off: "everyone should be entitled to an opinion. And euthanasia." that's one way to end your newspaper I guess
- Windom Earle (@laurendhe) May 6, 2016

Nice reference to euthanasia given that she assisted the New Day in dying https://t.co/TCxo3U5wG6
- Jack Averty (@javerty_star) May 6, 2016

The New Day closes after 50 edtions. Good try folks but not sure the parting shot at your competitors is justified https://t.co/paistULhxh
- Anna Macarthur (@MacarthurAnna) May 6, 2016

I'm beginning to worry that the staff of The New Day are part of some kind of print media-enthusiast suicide cult pic.twitter.com/2mrqSxVczU
- Ryan Broderick (@broderick) May 6, 2016

Picked up the last edition of the New Day - didn't buy it as it's rubbish. "Interesting" goodbye from @AlisonTheNewDay
- Scott Jones ? (@ScottJonesy) May 6, 2016

lmao the New Day sign off: "everyone should be entitled to an opinion. And euthanasia." that's one way to end your newspaper I guess
- Windom Earle (@laurendhe) May 6, 2016

Phillips was not immediately available for comment.

Trinity Mirror declined to comment.

The New Day launched at the end of February. Styled as a "politically-neutral" tabloid, the paper had aimed to reach an audience that had "fallen out of love with newspapers."

Trinity Mirror had targeted 200,000 daily sales of the newspaper, but it was shifting just 30,000 copies a day, according to The Guardian.

The New Day's launch was backed with a £5 million ($7.3 million) advertising campaign.

The editor of the ill-fated The New Day newspaper signed off with a bizarre letter to readers (and critics) in its final issue

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