The Guardian is in trouble

ancapailldorcha · 01-08-2016 11:06AM #1

Not sure how many readers there are here but I thought I would share this. The Guardian which has a tendency to be viewed negatively in this forum has apparently been making record losses (Source).

The Economist wrote:

This hit home as the Guardian Media Group (GMG), its parent company, announced pre-tax losses of £173m ($264m) on July 27th, its biggest ever dip into the red. Some £104m of this comes from GMG writing down the value of its stake in Ascential, a publicly listed information and events company, as well as additional restructuring costs. But that still leaves GMG with a loss of £69m. And given the Guardian’s substantial presence online, the decline in GMG’s digital revenue, from £84m in 2015 to £82m, may be of most concern, even though for now the fall is slight.

The Scott Trust, GMG’s sole shareholder, is tasked with protecting the newspaper in perpetuity. But GMG’s cash and investment funds declined from £838m in 2015 to £765m this year. It is not lost on anyone, including the paper’s journalists, that the money could continue ebbing away, even raising the possibility of the Guardian closing.

Frankly, I am not surprised. The paper seems happy to push ahead with various forms of angry leftists which often villainise men while pushing ahead with the obligatory victimhood narratives for everyone else. I do read it as it is better than a lot of the alternatives but I won't be shedding any tears at its demise.

Henry94 · 01-08-2016 11:09AM

It is now in the process of alienating the left with an unpopular stance against Corbyn. So who will buy it? Hipsters?

fits · 01-08-2016 11:11AM

Who owns it? And who owns what's left? Murdoch and some Russian media moguls. Say what you will about the guardian but diversity of ownership is important. It would be a big loss in the UK.

nc6000 · 01-08-2016 11:12AM

It's a better newspaper than anything we have in Ireland.

Sharer · 01-08-2016 11:48AM

I agree it has a balanced, fair approach towards most subjects and is one of the few papers in Britain that is not owned by highly right wing moguls. It is well written and covers most areas of interest with objectivity. Unfortunately any paper that is not right wing is in trouble the way politics and sentiment are going all over Europe and USA. The Independent already lost out.
Let us hope for balance, the Guardian lives on

Manach · 01-08-2016 12:03PM

The English media I'd usual read are the Telegraph and Private Eye. For the latter's sake I'd hope the Guardian continues, as its po-faced leftwing articles of intellectual bent are skewered in a most entertaining fashion by that publication.

imitation · 01-08-2016 12:06PM

They also demonised a lot of pro brexiters, considering it was a popular vote its probably back firing now. Its pity because considering how controlling and manipulative the uk media it is it was at least a counterpoint.

marienbad · 01-08-2016 12:13PM

It would be a huge loss , any more dilution of press ownership is just disastrous - even if you don't agree with its line .

ancapailldorcha · 01-08-2016 12:16PM

fits wrote: »

Who owns it? And who owns what's left? Murdoch and some Russian media moguls. Say what you will about the guardian but diversity of ownership is important. It would be a big loss in the UK.

It's owned by the Guardian Media Group which in turn is owned by the Scott Trust Ltd. There's still diversity of opinion with the Morning Star, the Independent, the Huffington Post, the New Statesman, etc...

marienbad · 01-08-2016 12:41PM

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

It's owned by the Guardian Media Group which in turn is owned by the Scott Trust Ltd. There's still diversity of opinion with the Morning Star, the Independent, the Huffington Post, the New Statesman, etc...

with a combined circulation of less than 200k and, excluding the Guardian, a tiny online presence . While you are at it you might as well throw in The London Review of Books and other such publications .

The danger is that with such small numbers they are just preaching to the converted , which makes the Guardian even more vital .

jimmynokia · 01-08-2016 12:49PM

Who buys newspapers.

marienbad · 01-08-2016 12:56PM

jimmynokia wrote: »

Who buys newspapers.

About 10,000,000 people a day in the UK - how many households is that ?

silverharp · 01-08-2016 12:56PM

I dont read it but the articles that get tossed around are normally Bindel and Valenti making it a feminist fast breeder reactor

BoJack Horseman · 01-08-2016 12:59PM

They can count their lucky stars they are offshored in the Cayman Islands avoiding tax!

GMG would be in a much worse state if it was not.

ancapailldorcha · 01-08-2016 01:06PM

marienbad wrote: »

with a combined circulation of less than 200k and, excluding the Guardian, a tiny online presence . While you are at it you might as well throw in The London Review of Books and other such publications .

The danger is that with such small numbers they are just preaching to the converted , which makes the Guardian even more vital .

The Independent's current circulation is about double the Guardian's (Source). There's also the BBC which surpasses almost every other media outlet and is free. It's not a newspaper per se though with the proliferation of smartphones this isn't much of a problem. I'll grant that the rest are quite small but might see significant growth should the Guardian fall. Several columnists already write for them as well such as Owen Jones, Laurie Penny, etc...

Saipanne · 01-08-2016 01:09PM

silverharp wrote: »

I dont read it but the articles that get tossed around are normally Bindel and Valenti making it a feminist fast breeder reactor

It's just turned into a pro Islam feminist rag. Good riddance.

Water John · 01-08-2016 01:12PM

Pro Islam, Feminist???
Wierd combination.
Read it, but don't see that.

The_Valeyard · 01-08-2016 01:15PM

I used to read it. But then it went very far left and man hating.

marienbad · 01-08-2016 01:21PM

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

The Independent's current circulation is about double the Guardian's (Source). There's also the BBC which surpasses almost every other media outlet and is free. It's not a newspaper per se though with the proliferation of smartphones this isn't much of a problem. I'll grant that the rest are quite small but might see significant growth should the Guardian fall. Several columnists already write for them as well such as Owen Jones, Laurie Penny, etc...

I think that is the Independent on Sunday though - but even so combining all these 'independant' publications together the numbers are very small .

I agree with you re the BBC but with guaranteed Tory rule for the foreseeable future how long will that continue .

Am I alone and out of touch in thinking that one most read most of a publication over a sustained period of time to gain a proper appreciation of it ? The problem with the articles and columnists that get the most attention is that they are read in isolation and give a distorted view of the paper .

curiousoranje · 01-08-2016 01:23PM

Shame if it goes. Some great articles (usually 1 or 2 very well written, long read in depth articles most days) and some fantastic contributors. The app is very good compared to any other newspapers efforts too.

Funny, I'm a man and have never felt hated and I've never encountered any pro-islam stuff in their articles either. Then again I try to keep an open mind and don't think the world is out to get me!

ancapailldorcha · 01-08-2016 01:25PM

marienbad wrote: »

I agree with you re the BBC but with guaranteed Tory rule for the foreseeable future how long will that continue.

I don't know to be honest. People love the BBC. I'd say that it is safe enough for now.

marienbad wrote: »

Am I alone and out of touch in thinking that one most read most of a publication over a sustained period of time to gain a proper appreciation of it ? The problem with the articles and columnists that get the most attention is that they are read in isolation and give a distorted view of the paper .

I've read it on-and-off for years and when many of the columnists come out with the same claptrap over and over again then I think it's fair to say that they represent the paper's opinion. Just have a gander at the sexism thread on this forum for some of its greatest hits. Some of them are truly hateful people as well. I'd point to Julie Bindel as a great example of this.

Maguined · 01-08-2016 01:40PM

curiousoranje wrote: »

Shame if it goes. Some great articles (usually 1 or 2 very well written, long read in depth articles most days) and some fantastic contributors. The app is very good compared to any other newspapers efforts too.

Funny, I'm a man and have never felt hated and I've never encountered any pro-islam stuff in their articles either. Then again I try to keep an open mind and don't think the world is out to get me!

Did you read much of Jessica Valenti's articles?

Saipanne · 01-08-2016 01:41PM

Water John wrote: »

Pro Islam, Feminist???
Wierd combination.
Read it, but don't see that.

Really? The Islam one is more subtle, I'll say that much. But it's totally feminist these days.

01-08-2016 04:17PM

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

They can count their lucky stars they are offshored in the Cayman Islands avoiding tax!

GMG would be in a much worse state if it was not.

If they're loss making there's no benefit to being in the Caymans

ancapailldorcha · 01-08-2016 04:17PM

AdamD wrote: »

If they're loss making there's no benefit to being in the Caymans

They'll lose less money by avoiding tax.

01-08-2016 04:36PM

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

They'll lose less money by avoiding tax.

They'll still pay VAT etc. the only tax it'll effect is corporation tax, which they wouldn't be paying anyway as they're loss making.

jimmynokia · 01-08-2016 04:45PM

marienbad wrote: »

About 10,000,000 people a day in the UK - how many households is that ?

Idiots

marienbad · 01-08-2016 04:54PM

jimmynokia wrote: »

Idiots

Says jimmynokia ? Why are they idiots ?

fits · 01-08-2016 05:07PM

I'm highly dubious about the independent's owner as well. Son of a former KGB agent and attended the dinner where Gove convinced Johnson to back the leave campaign for brexit.

Elmer Blooker · 01-08-2016 05:10PM

The_Valeyard wrote: »

I used to read it. But then it went very far left and man hating.

Far left? Its indistinguishable from the Telegraph, Mail, Express etc these days.
Disgruntled ex Guardian readers angry at the heavy handed censorship of the comments section have set up this site.
https://off-guardian.org/about-2/

jimmynokia · 01-08-2016 05:24PM

marienbad wrote: »

Says jimmynokia ? Why are they idiots ?

Why spend money when there is a free app or alternative source?? Personally I have not bought a newspaper in 5 years

The Guardian is in trouble

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