The seismic changes underway in the global media industry were highlighted on Friday as it was confirmed that Britain’s national newspapers The Independent and The Independent on Sunday would end their print editions at the end of March, and are set to continue as digital only versions from thence on.

The news was confirmed by ESI Media, which owns the two papers, as well as its sister tabloid-sized publication, i , and the London commuter newspaper The Evening Standard .

i is also being sold to Scottish media group Johnston Press for £24 million, subject to shareholder approval, it was confirmed on Friday.

“The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers. They’re showing us that the future is digital,” said Evegeny Lebedev, owner of the media group.

The Lebedev family acquired the Independent newspapers in 2010.

ESI Media said TheIndependent ’s news website had grown rapidly in the past three years, with revenues expected to grow 50 per cent in 2016.

“The move will… ensure a sustainable and profitable future,” the group said.

The Independent , set up in 1986 and currently led by editor Amol Rajan, has a reputation for strong, hard-hitting independent journalism, and powerful stories.

Recently, it has tackled issues such as Europe’s refugee crisis and West Asia (covered by the paper’s well-known correspondent Robert Fisk), civil liberties and the war on terror.

The last print edition of The Independent will be on March 26, and the last Independent on Sunday will be published on March 20.

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