Ethnic Media Group’s decision to sell off its flagship Asian newspaper Eastern Eye represents a big change in its long, turbulent history.

In a statement to AIM magazine today, editor Hamant Verma said: “Now that we no longer have to subsidise New Nation, I hope that Eastern Eye may at long last have the resources to realise its full potential.”

That suggests significant internal tensions over how EMG’s two main newspapers were faring and possibly points to a struggle over resources.

Eastern Eye was launched in 1989 to cater for Britain’s South Asian communities. It was initially carried freely in the Guardian newspaper and later became a stand-alone title. Sarwar Ahmed, its founding editor, went on to launch Asian Woman magazine and then later Asiana.

The newspaper was eventually bought out by the Trinity Mirror group of newspapers – publishers of the Daily Mirror and numerous local titles.

In 2002, Eastern Eye’s management bought it out from Trinity and established Ethnic Media Group with Gurmeet Khangura as chairman and Wayne Bower as managing director.

Since then EMG has always had big plans for the paper but never really managed to pull them off. In 2003 Eastern Eye’s glossy pullout E-mag was shelved and entertainment content was made part of the main paper to cut costs.

There were plans to publish regional versions of EE across the country in 2006, and though a Scottish edition was eventually established, other version never really took off.

The newspaper was caught between producing entertainment content for a younger audience and more serious community news for an older readership.

In 2004 Eastern Eye’s first officially recorded circulation figures were released, putting sales at 20,661 per week. Of that, the average number of copies sold weekly were 16,518. Subscription accounted for another 375 in sales and an average of 3,768 copies were given out free every week.

A year later headline circulation had risen to 21,171 copies per week. But a lower number of 16,171 copies were sold at full price every week and an increased average of 5,026 copies were distributed free as part of promotional activity, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation. Soon after it stopped having its circulation recorded.

In June 2005 its long-standing editor Amar Singh left to join London’s Evening Standard newspaper. A few months later journalist Hamant Verma was brought in as editor.

Eastern Eye’s sale to AMG clearly means the latter thinks the newspaper is a strong brand that can make money. But is there still a need for an Asian newspaper in English?

Hamant, unsurprisingly perhaps, thinks there is. “Who else will campaign against retrospective changes to immigration laws, against draconian anti-terror legislation and put race on the agenda of public authorities and the mainstream media?”