The Independent

"Independent Online" redirects here. For South African version, see Independent Online (South Africa).
The Independent

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Front page of The Independent dated 10 August 2016
Type Daily newspaper
Format Compact
Owner(s) Alexander Lebedev
Evgeny Lebedev
Publisher Independent Print Limited
Editor Amol Rajan[1]
Founded October 7, 1986 (1986-10-07)
Headquarters Northcliffe House
City London
Country United Kingdom
Circulation 57,930, Monday to Saturday; 97,218 Sunday (June 2015)[2]
Sister newspapers The Independent on Sunday
The i
ISSN 0951-9467
OCLC number 185201487
Website www.independent.co.uk

The Independent is a British online newspaper.[3] Established in 1986 as an independent national morning newspaper published in London, it was controlled by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev in 2010.[4] Since March 2016, it is no longer printed, but is available for readers online.[5]

Nicknamed the Indy, it began as a broadsheet newspaper, but changed to tabloid (compact) format in 2003.[6] Regarded as coming from the centre-left on culture and politics,[7] it tends to take a pro-market stance on economic issues.[8] Until September 2011, the paper described itself on the banner at the top of every newspaper as "free from party political bias, free from proprietorial influence."[9]

The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards. The current editor, Amol Rajan, was appointed in June 2013.

In June 2015, it had an average daily circulation of just below 58,000, 85 per cent down from its 1990 peak, with the Sunday edition having a circulation of just over 97,000.[10] On 12 February 2016, it was announced that The Independent and its sister Sunday title would become digital-only.[3] The last print edition of The Independent on Sunday was published on 20 March 2016, with the main paper ceasing print publication the following Saturday.

History

1986 to 1990

Launched in 1986, the first issue of The Independent was published on 7 October in broadsheet format.[11] It was produced by Newspaper Publishing plc and created by Andreas Whittam Smith, Stephen Glover and Matthew Symonds. All three partners were former journalists at The Daily Telegraph who had left the paper towards the end of Lord Hartwell's ownership. Marcus Sieff was the first chairman of Newspaper Publishing, and Whittam Smith took control of the paper.[12]

The paper was created at a time of a fundamental change in British newspaper publishing. Rupert Murdoch was challenging long-accepted practices of the print unions and ultimately defeated them in the Wapping dispute. Consequently, production costs could be reduced which, it was said at the time, created openings for more competition. As a result of controversy around Murdoch's move to Wapping, the plant was effectively having to function under siege from sacked print workers picketing outside. The Independent attracted some of the staff from the two Murdoch broadsheets who had chosen not to move to his company's new headquarters. Launched with the advertising slogan "It is. Are you?", and challenging both The Guardian for centre-left readers and The Times as the newspaper of record, The Independent reached a circulation of over 400,000 by 1989.

Competing in a moribund market, The Independent sparked a general freshening of newspaper design as well as, within a few years, a price war in the market sector. When The Independent launched The Independent on Sunday in 1990, sales were less than anticipated, partly due to the launch of the Sunday Correspondent four months prior, although this direct rival closed at the end of November 1990. Some aspects of production merged with the main paper, although the Sunday paper retained a largely distinct editorial staff.

1990 to present

In the 1990s, The Independent was faced with price cutting by the Murdoch titles, and started an advertising campaign accusing The Times and The Daily Telegraph of reflecting the views of their proprietors, Rupert Murdoch and Conrad Black. It featured spoofs of the other papers' mastheads with the words 'The Rupert Murdoch' or 'The Conrad Black', with 'The Independent' below the main title.

Newspaper Publishing had financial problems. A number of other media companies were interested in the paper. Tony O'Reilly's media group and Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) had bought a stake of about a third each by mid-1994. In March 1995, Newspaper Publishing was restructured with a rights issue, splitting the shareholding into O'Reilly's Independent News & Media (43%), MGN (43%), and Prisa (publisher of El País) (12%).[13]

In April 1996, there was another refinancing, and in March 1998, O'Reilly bought the other 54% of the company for £30 million, and assumed the company's debt. Brendan Hopkins headed Independent News, Andrew Marr was appointed editor of The Independent, and Rosie Boycott became editor of The Independent on Sunday. Marr introduced a dramatic if short-lived redesign which won critical favour but was a commercial failure, partly as a result of a limited promotional budget. Marr admitted his changes had been a mistake in his book, My Trade.[14]

Boycott left in April 1998 to join the Daily Express, and Marr left in May 1998, later becoming the BBC's political editor. Simon Kelner was appointed as the editor. By this time the circulation had fallen below 200,000. Independent News spent heavily to increase circulation, and the paper went through several redesigns. While circulation increased, it did not approach the level which had been achieved in 1989, or restore profitability. Job cuts and financial controls reduced the morale of journalists and the quality of the product. Ivan Fallon, on the board since 1995 and formerly a key figure at The Sunday Times, replaced Hopkins as head of Independent News & Media in July 2002. By mid-2004, the newspaper was losing £5 million per year. A gradual improvement meant that by 2006, circulation was at a nine-year high.[15]

In November 2008, following further staff cuts, production was moved to Northcliffe House, in Kensington High Street, the headquarters of Associated Newspapers.[16] The two newspaper groups' editorial, management and commercial operations remained separate, but they shared services including security, information technology, switchboard and payroll.

On 25 March 2010, Independent News & Media sold the newspaper to Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev for a nominal £1 fee and £9.25m over the next 10 months, choosing this option over closing The Independent and The Independent on Sunday, which would have cost £28m and £40m respectively, due to long-term contracts.[4][17] In 2009, Lebedev had bought a controlling stake in the London Evening Standard. Two weeks later, editor Roger Alton resigned.[18]

Content

Format and design

The Independent's front page,
15 February 2014

The Independent began publishing as a broadsheet, in a series of celebrated designs. The final version was designed by Carroll, Dempsey and Thirkell following a commission by Nicholas Garland who, along with Alexander Chancellor, was unhappy with designs produced by Raymond Hawkey and Michael McGuiness – on seeing the proposed designs, Chancellor had said "I thought we were joining a serious paper." The first edition was designed and implemented by Michael Crozier, who was Executive Editor, Design and Picture, from pre-launch in 1986 to 1994.

From September 2003, the paper was produced in both broadsheet and tabloid-sized versions, with the same content in each. The tabloid edition was termed "compact" to distance itself from the more sensationalist reporting style usually associated with "tabloid" newspapers in the UK.[19] After launching in the London area and then in North West England,[20] the smaller format appeared gradually throughout the UK. Soon afterwards, Rupert Murdoch's Times followed suit, introducing its own tabloid-sized version.[21] Prior to these changes, The Independent had a daily circulation of around 217,500, the lowest of any major national British daily, a figure that climbed by 15% as of March 2004 (to 250,000). Throughout much of 2006, circulation stagnated at a quarter of a million. On 14 May 2004, The Independent produced its last weekday broadsheet, having stopped producing a Saturday broadsheet edition in January. The Independent on Sunday published its last simultaneous broadsheet on 9 October 2005, and has since followed a compact design.

On 12 April 2005, The Independent redesigned its layout to a more European feel, similar to France's Libération. The redesign was carried out by a Barcelona-based design studio. The weekday second section was subsumed within the main paper, double-page feature articles became common in the main news sections, and there were revisions to the front and back covers.[22] A new second section, "Extra", was introduced on 25 April 2006. It is similar to The Guardian's "G2" and The Times's "Times2", containing features, reportage and games, including sudoku. In June 2007, The Independent on Sunday consolidated its content into a news section which included sports and business, and a magazine focusing on life and culture.[23] On 23 September 2008, the main newspaper became full-colour, and "Extra" was replaced by an "Independent Life Supplement" focusing on different themes each day.[24]

Three weeks after the acquisition of the paper by Alexander Lebedev and Evgeny Lebedev in 2010, the paper was relaunched with another redesign on 20 April. The new format featured smaller headlines and a new pullout "Viewspaper" section, which contained the paper's comment and feature articles.[25] From 26 October 2010, the same day as its sister paper, i, was launched, The Independent was printed on slightly thicker paper than before and ceased to be full-colour throughout, with many photographs and pictures (though none of those used in adverts) being printed in black and white only. On 11 October 2011, The Independent unveiled yet another new look, featuring a red, sans-serif masthead. In November 2013, the whole newspaper was overhauled again, including new custom fonts and a vertical masthead in black.

Front pages

Following the 2003 switch in format, The Independent became known for its unorthodox and campaigning front pages, which frequently relied on images, graphics or lists rather than traditional headlines and written news content. For example, following the Kashmir earthquake in 2005, it used its front page to urge its readers to donate to its appeal fund, and following the publication of the Hutton Report into the death of British government scientist David Kelly, its front page simply carried the word "Whitewash?".[26] In 2003, the paper's editor, Simon Kelner, was named "Editor of the Year" at the What the Papers Say awards, partly in recognition of, according to the judges, his "often arresting and imaginative front-page designs".[27] In 2008, however, as he was stepping down as editor, he stated that it was possible to "overdo the formula" and that the style of the paper's front pages perhaps needed "reinvention".[28]

Under the subsequent editorship of Chris Blackhurst, the campaigning, poster-style front pages were scaled back in favour of more conventional news stories.

Sections

The weekday, Saturday and Sunday editions of The Independent all included supplements and pull-out subsections:

Daily (Monday to Friday) The Independent:

  • "Monday Sport": A weekly pull-out containing reports of the previous weekend's sporting events.

Saturday's The Independent:

  • "Saturday Sport": A weekly pull-out containing reports looking ahead to the weekend's sporting events.
  • "Radar": A compact, primarily listings magazine, including television schedules, film and DVD reviews and events listings for the coming week. It also includes a round-up of the "50 best" items in a particular category. For example, over the Christmas period there are weekly supplements of "Gifts for him" and "Gifts for her".
  • "Traveller": Contains travel articles and advertisements.
  • "The Independent Magazine": A features magazine including sections on food, interiors and fashion.

The Independent on Sunday:

  • "Sport": A weekly pull-out containing reports of Saturday's sporting events.
  • "The New Review": A features magazine.
  • "Arts & Books": A culture supplement.
  • "Rainbow List" An annually-updated list, first published in 2000, then as the "Pink List", of the most famous and influential people who have declared themselves lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.[29][30]

Online presence

On 23 January 2008, The Independent relaunched its online edition, www.independent.co.uk.[31][32] The relaunched site introduced a new look, better access to the blog service, priority on image and video content, and additional areas of the site including art, architecture, fashion, gadgets and health. The paper launched podcast programmes such as "The Independent Music Radio Show", "The Independent Travel Guides", "The Independent Sailing Podcasts", and "The Independent Video Travel Guides". Since 2009, the website has carried short video news bulletins provided by the Al Jazeera English news channel.[33]

In 2014, The Independent launched a sister website, i100, a "shareable" journalism site with similarities to Reddit and Upworthy.[34]

Political views

When the paper was established in 1986, the founders intended its political stance to reflect the centre of the British political spectrum and thought that it would attract readers primarily from The Times and The Daily Telegraph. It has been seen as leaning to the left, making it more a competitor to The Guardian, although both also feature conservative columnists. The Independent tends to take a classical liberal, pro-market stance on economic issues.[8] In an editorial on 27 January 2013, the Independent on Sunday referred to itself as a "proudly liberal newspaper".[35]

The paper took a strong editorial position against the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, the Iraq War, and aspects of US and UK foreign policy related to the War on Terrorism following the 11 September attacks. It has been a strong supporter of electoral reform.[36] The paper has also taken strong positions on environmental issues, campaigned against the introduction of ID cards, and campaigned against the restriction of mass immigration to the UK. In 1997, The Independent on Sunday launched a campaign for the decriminalisation of cannabis. Ten years later, it reversed itself, claiming that the cannabis strain "skunk" "smoked by the majority of young Britons" in 2007 had become "25 times stronger than resin sold a decade ago."[37] In addition, The Independent has highlighted what it refers to as "war crimes" being committed by pro-government forces in the Darfur region of Sudan.[38]

Originally, it avoided royal stories, Whittam Smith later saying he thought the British press was "unduly besotted" with the Royal Family and that a newspaper could "manage without" stories about the monarchy.[39]

In 2007, Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, said of The Independent: "The emphasis on views, not news, means that the reporting is rather thin, and it loses impact on the front page the more you do that."[40] In a 12 June 2007 speech, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called The Independent a "viewspaper", saying it "was started as an antidote to the idea of journalism as views not news. That was why it was called the Independent. Today it is avowedly a viewspaper not merely a newspaper".[41] The Independent criticised Blair's comments the following day[42][43] but later changed format to include a "Viewspaper" insert in the centre of the regular newspaper, designed to feature most of the opinion columns and arts reviews.

A leader published on the day of the 2008 London Mayoral election compared the candidates and said that, if the newspaper had a vote, it would vote first for the Green Party candidate, Sian Berry, noting the similarity between her priorities and those of The Independent, and secondly, with "rather heavy heart", for the incumbent, Ken Livingstone.[44]

An Ipsos MORI poll estimated that in the 2010 general election, 44% of regular readers voted Liberal Democrat, 32% voted Labour,[45] and 14% voted Conservative, compared to 23%, 29%, and 36%, respectively, of the overall electorate.[46] On the eve of the 2010 general election, The Independent supported the Liberal Democrats, arguing that "they are longstanding and convincing champions of civil liberties, sound economics, international co-operation on the great global challenges and, of course, fundamental electoral reform. These are all principles that this newspaper has long held dear. That is why we argue that there is a strong case for progressively minded voters to lend their support to the Liberal Democrats wherever there is a clear opportunity for that party to win."[36] However, the weekend before the 2015 general election saw The Independent on Sunday claim it would not be advising its readers how to vote in 2015. The editorial piece claimed that "this does not mean that we are a bloodless, value-free news-sheet. We have always been committed to social justice", but the paper recognised that it was up the readers to "make up your own mind about whether you agree with us or not". Rather than support a particular party, the paper urged all its reader to vote as "a responsibility of common citizenship".[47] On 4 May 2015, the weekday version of The Independent said that a continuation of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition after the general election would be a positive outcome.[48]

Personnel

Editors

The Independent:

1986: Andreas Whittam Smith
1994: Ian Hargreaves
1995: Charles Wilson
1996: Andrew Marr
1998: Rosie Boycott
1998: Andrew Marr and Rosie Boycott
1998: Simon Kelner
2008: Roger Alton
2010: Simon Kelner
2011: Chris Blackhurst[49]
2013: Amol Rajan[1]

The Independent on Sunday:

1990: Stephen Glover
1991: Ian Jack
1995: Peter Wilby
1996: Rosie Boycott
1998: Kim Fletcher
1999: Janet Street-Porter
2002: Tristan Davies
2008: John Mullin
2013: Lisa Markwell

There have also been various guest editors over the years, such as Elton John on 1 December 2010, the Body Shop's Anita Roddick on 19 June 2003 and U2's Bono in 2006.

Writers and columnists

Predominantly in The Independent:

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Predominantly The Independent on Sunday:

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Photographers

Longford Prize

The Independent sponsors the Longford Prize, in memory of Lord Longford.[50]

The Independent on Sunday
Type Sunday newspaper
Editor Lisa Markwell[51]
Circulation 155,661[52]
ISSN 0958-1723
OCLC number 500339994

The Independent on Sunday

The Independent on Sunday was the Sunday sister newspaper of The Independent. It ceased to exist in 2016 when the latter stopped being printed.

The i

Main article: i (newspaper)

In October 2010, the i, a compact sister newspaper, was launched. The i is a separate newspaper but uses some of the same material.

The (RED) Independent

The Independent supported U2 lead singer Bono's Product RED brand by creating The (RED) Independent, an occasional edition that gave half the day's proceeds to the charity.[53] The first edition was in May 2006. Edited by Bono, it drew high sales.[54]

A September 2006 edition of The (RED) Independent, designed by fashion designer Giorgio Armani, drew controversy due to its cover shot, showing model Kate Moss in blackface for an article about AIDS in Africa.[55]

Awards and nominations

The Independent was awarded "National Newspaper of the Year" for 2003[56][57] and the Independent on Sunday was awarded "Front Page of the Year" for 2014's "Here is the news, not the propaganda", printed on 5 October 2014.[56]

Independent journalists have won a range of British Press Awards, including:[56]

In January 2013, The Independent was nominated for the Responsible Media of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.[58]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 William Turvill "Amol Rajan is made editor of The Independent as Chris Blackhurst becomes group content director", Press Gazette, 17 June 2013
  2. ↑ Circulation figures Press Gazette 10 July 2015
  3. 1 2 "Independent to cease as print edition". BBC News. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Independent titles sold to Lebedev family company". The Independent. London. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  5. ↑ "Google". www.google.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  6. ↑ "'The Independent' launches tabloid version to give readers a choice". The Independent. London. 27 September 2003.
  7. ↑ U.K. paper follows rivals into tabloid format: At The Times, size matters, International Herald Tribune, 8 December 2003. Archived 4 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. 1 2 Wilby, Peter (14 April 2008). "It is. Is he?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  9. ↑ "Indy's Independence Whacked - Guy Fawkes' blog". Order-order.com. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  10. ↑ ABC circulation figures Press Gazette
  11. ↑ Dennis Griffiths (ed.) The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992, London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p. 330
  12. ↑ Glover, Stephen (6 October 2006). "The Independent: Reflections on the last 20 years". The Independent. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  13. ↑ Lewis, Justin; Williams, Andrew; Franklin, Bob; Thomas, James; Mosdell, Nick. "The Quality and Independence of British Journalism: Tracking the Changes Over 20 Years" (PDF). Cardiff: Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University. p. 61.
  14. ↑ "My Trade: A short history of British journalism by Andrew Marr". The Independent. London. 12 September 2004.
  15. ↑ Lelic, Sarah (19 September 2006). "INM eyes Independent profit". mad.co.uk.
  16. ↑ Sweney, Mark (28 November 2008). "Independent titles to relocate to Associated Newspapers HQ". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
  17. ↑ Bintliff, Esther; Fenton, Ben (25 March 2010). "Lebedev scoops up The Independent for £1". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  18. ↑ Ponsford, Dominic (9 April 2010) "Roger Alton steps down as Independent editor", Press Gazette (London).
  19. ↑ Carney, Beth (1 December 2004). "British papers shrink to conquer". Business Week. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  20. ↑ "The Independent announces launch of compact version in North-west". The Independent. UK. 3 November 2003. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  21. ↑ Billings, Claire (5 December 2003). "Times tabloid pushes up sales". Brand Republic. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  22. ↑ Brook, Stephen (12 April 2005). "Independent redesign takes it forward". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  23. ↑ Dominic Ponsford. "News magazine look for relaunched Independent on Sunday". Press Gazette.
  24. ↑ Luft, Oliver (23 September 2008). "Independent goes full colour". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  25. ↑ Ponsford, Dominic (20 April 2010). "Independent relaunch". Press Gazette. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  26. ↑ Whitehead, Jennifer (12 October 2005). "Independent breaks front page mould again". PRWeek. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  27. ↑ Burrell, Ian (18 December 2003). "Independent editor wins top award". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  28. ↑ Brook, Stephen (5 June 2008). "Kelner says it's time to rethink "viewspaper" front pages". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  29. ↑ "The Independent on Sunday's Pink List 2013". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  30. ↑ Guest, Katy (5 October 2014). "The Rainbow List 2014: Why we changed the name from the Pink List". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "Welcome to The Independent's new website". The Independent (web only). 23 January 2008.
  32. ↑ "Independent unveils revamped website". Journalism.co.uk. 23 January 2008.
  33. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (15 January 2009). "Independent in al-Jazeera video tie-up". guardian.co.uk (web only). London. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  34. ↑ "Why The Independent launched the new user-focused i100". journalism.co.uk.
  35. ↑ "Editorial: a liberal gamble too far". The Independent. London. 27 January 2013.
  36. 1 2 "This historic opportunity must not be missed". The Independent. London. 5 May 2010.
  37. ↑ Owen, Jonathan (18 March 2007). "Were we out of our minds? No, but then came skunk". The Independent on Sunday. London. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  38. ↑ Grice, Andrew (2 August 2007). "Darfur: The evidence of war crimes". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  39. ↑ Whittam Smith, Andreas (11 December 2000). "Debate the monarchy's future, but it will change nothing". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  40. ↑ Morgan, Piers (2 April 2007). "What happened when the Guardian editor met Piers Morgan". The Independent. London.
  41. ↑ "Blair on the media". BBC News. 12 June 2007.
  42. ↑ Grice, Andrew (13 June 2007). "Blair's attack provokes anger among newspaper editors and broadcasters". The Independent (London). Retrieved 9 December 2009.
  43. ↑ Kelner, Simon (13 June 2007). "Would you be saying this, Mr Blair, if we supported your war in Iraq?". The Independent. London. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
  44. ↑ "If newspapers had a vote, this one would put its cross beside... (leader)". The Independent. London. 1 May 2008. p. 28. So consonant are her priorities with those of this paper that, if we could vote for mayor today, we would place our first-preference cross against her name. This would underscore the importance of the environment to both London and to the rest of the nation. Then, and with rather heavy heart, it would be illogical to do anything other than make Ken Livingstone our second choice.
  45. ↑ "Ipsos MORI".
  46. ↑ Ipsos MORI (24 May 2010). "Voting by Newspaper Readership 1992-2010". Ipsos MORI General Election aggregates. Ipsos MORI. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  47. ↑ "General Election 2015: Every vote matters - as a responsibility of". The Independent. 2 May 2015.
  48. ↑ "Editorial: In defence of liberal democracy". The Independent. 4 May 2015.
  49. ↑ "A new editor for The Independent". The Independent. London. 2 July 2011.
  50. ↑ Morris, Nigel (23 November 2007). "Prisoners Abroad charity wins Longford prize". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  51. ↑ Angela Haggerty "Appointment of Lisa Markwell as editor of Independent on Sunday announced by owner via Twitter", The Drum, 26 April 2013
  52. ↑ Brook, Stephen (25 March 2010). "Lebedev buys Independent newspapers". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  53. ↑ Vallely, Paul (15 May 2006). "A red revolution on the high street". The Independent. London.
  54. ↑ "They found what they were looking for". NewsDesigner.com. 23 May 2006.
  55. ↑ Pool, Hannah (22 September 2006). "Return to the dark ages". The Guardian. London.
  56. 1 2 3 "Press Awards: Winners for 2014". Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  57. ↑ "Press Awards Winners 2000-08". 16 March 2004. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  58. ↑ "Winners honoured at British Muslim Awards". Asian Image. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
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