{{Short description|European online newspaper}} {{Infobox newspaper | name = EUobserver | logo = EUobserver logotype.svg | type = Online newspaper | owners = EUobserver.com ASBL | founder = Lisbeth Kirk | publisher = | chief_editor = | founded = 2000 | circulation = | website = {{URL|euobserver.com}} | circulation_ref = }} '''''EUobserver''''' is a European online newspaper, launched in 2000 by the Brussels-based organisation EUobserver.com ASBL.
The newspaper provides both daily reports and in-depth coverage on international affairs related to the European Union (EU).<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Government and Politics of the European Union|last=Nugent|first=Neill|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2011|isbn=9780230241183|edition=7th|series=The European Union Series|pages=464|chapter=Guide to Further Reading|oclc=745517862|quote='''''EUobserver''''' provides an extremely useful report on daily issues concerning the EU.}}</ref> It is regarded as one of the first English language media outlets dedicated to the reporting of EU affairs,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Euro-English : assessing variety status|last=Mollin|first=Sandra|publisher=Gunter Narr Verlag|year=2006|isbn=9783823362500|location=Tübingen|pages=56|oclc=804963256|quote=Every newspaper stand in Europe provides English-language newspapers and magazines, yet none of them are produced on the European Continent expressly with the intention of reaching a Continental European audience. Rather, newspapers such as the ''International Tribute'' or magazines such as ''Time'' or ''Newsweek'' are intended for a readership of English native speakers abroad and an international elite of non-native speakers. Thus, we cannot really group these under the heading of 'English in European media'. The only first development in this direction is, to the author's knowledge, the online news magazine '''''EU Observer''''', which presents EU-related news to a European audience in English.}}</ref> since joined by ''The Brussels Times'', ''EURACTIV'' and ''Politico Europe''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Politics of Think Tanks in Europe|last=Kelstrup|first=Jesper Dahl|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=9781138918320|pages=124|oclc=935193101|quote=One of the factors that restrict advocacy think tanks in the EU from emerging is the lack of widely read European media, not disregarding Politico.eu, EUobserver, and EurActiv.}}</ref>
==Organisation==
The website was first launched in 2000 by Lisbeth Kirk, a Danish journalist.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
There is much academic debate over whether ''EUobserver'', along with other similar publications, can be considered to be contributing to the creation of a pan-European public sphere.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Arguing about justice: Essays for Philippe Van Parijs|last=Sinardet|first=Dave|publisher=Presses Universitaires de Louvain|year=2011|isbn=9782874632754|editor-last=Gosseries|editor-first=Axel|pages=312|chapter=Multilingual democracy and public sphere: what Belgium and the EU can learn from each other|oclc=904310256|quote=A European public sphere can be imagined in two ways. The first is a pan-European public sphere, carried by pan European media, available across the entire EU territory. Some of these exist today (''Arte, Euronews, European Voice, '''EUobserver''''', ...), but reach a very limited audience [...] A problem for the rise of such European media is obviously the absence of a common language in the EU as English cannot (yet) be considered the lingua franca of all its social classes and geographical areas.|author-link=Dave Sinardet|editor-last2=Vanderborght|editor-first2=Yannick}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.silchestermarketing.com/EU_Oserver_Media_Kit.pdf|title=EU Observer Media Kit|website=Silchester Marketing|access-date=2017-05-28|archive-date=2018-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020135552/http://www.silchestermarketing.com/EU_Oserver_Media_Kit.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Kirk served as both editor-in-chief and business chief of the paper until 2015,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.politico.eu/list/the-women-who-shape-brussels/media-moguls-sheherazade-semsar-de-boisseson-euractiv-daniela-vincenti-eu-observer-lisbeth-kirk/|title=The Women Who Shape Brussels|last=Heath|first=Ryan|date=2016-10-07|work=Politico Europe|access-date=2017-05-28|language=en-US}}</ref> after which she was replaced by Eric Maurice, who took over as editor-in-chief of the publication.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://euobserver.com/static/about|title=EUobserver About Section|website=EUobserver}}</ref> In 2019, Koert Debeuf was appointed as new editor-in-chief of EUobserver.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/politico-eu-influence/politico-eu-influence-trumps-effect-on-eu-lobbying-strategic-duel-bayers-backflip/|title=Politico EU Influence|date=2019-06-21|work=Politico|access-date=2019-10-01|language=en}}</ref> The current editor-in-chief is Elena Sánchez Nicolás.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Team and Board – EUobserver |url=https://euobserver.com/our-team-and-board/ |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=euobserver.com}}</ref>
In February 2026, EUobserver underwent a major structural change when it was acquired by Denník N<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-17 |title=EUobserver joins journalist-owned publisher Denník N |url=https://euobserver.com/203123/euobserver-joins-journalist-owned-publisher-dennik-n/ |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=EUobserver |language=en-US}}</ref>, retaining its editorial independence.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-23 |title=Denník N goes to Brussels: why the Slovak daily acquired EUobserver |url=https://thefix.media/2026/02/23/dennik-n-goes-to-brussels-why-the-slovak-daily-acquired-euobserver/ |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=The Fix |language=en}}</ref> Denník N is a leading independent Central European publishing house, publishing in Slovak, Czech and Hungarian languages – read by millions every month.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-02 |title=Denník N: A Voice for Independent Journalism in Central Europe |url=https://dennikn.sk/dennik-n-a-voice-for-independent-journalism-in-central-europe/ |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=Denník N |language=sk-SK}}</ref>
==Readership== In a 2008 poll of 100 Brussels-based journalists by APCO, one third claimed to use the publication as their source for EU news, making it, at the time, the "second most influential" media outlet reporting on EU affairs behind the ''Financial Times''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mapping foreign correspondence in Europe|last=Terzis|first=Georgios|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=9780415719001|pages=27|oclc=955586223|quote=Of these media the ''Financial Times'' has a stable position as the leading news source [...] The second most influential media among journalists is '''''EUobserver''''', a Brussels-based online news source. A third of correspondents said they got their EU news from the '''''EUobserver''''' in the APCO poll, while 53 per cent said they read news on the site at least once a week, according to the ComRes ZN survey.}}</ref> Also, in a 2016 media survey, conducted by ComRes and Burson-Marsteller on 'What Influences the Influencers', it was found that ''EUobserver'' tended to be the preferred source of news for EU officials.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.burson-marsteller.eu/latest-news/what-influences-the-influencers-comresburson-marsteller-2016-eu-media-poll-findings-unveiled/|title=What Influences the Influencers? 2016 EU Media Poll findings unveiled|date=January 28, 2016|website=Burson Marsteller EU}}</ref>
Since ''EUobserver'' is an online medium, with the exception of its quarterly magazine editions,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thecolorclub.dk/portfolio_page/euobserver-magazine-degsign/|title=The Color Club EUobserver Magazine Design|website=The Color Club}}</ref> it relies on a growing social media following on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, reaching 330,000 followers in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/euobs-media/assets/mediakit.pdf|title=EUobserver Media Kit 2019}}</ref>
==See also== *''E!Sharp'' *''EURACTIV'' *Euronews *''EU Scream'' *''Politico Europe'' *''The Brussels Times'' *''Voxeurop''
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:EUobserver}} Category:Mass media in the European Union Category:Newspapers published in Brussels Category:2000 establishments in Belgium Category:Newspapers established in 2000 Category:Belgian news websites