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For-profit

Guardian

Guardian Media Group logo (link)
Type:

Media Outlet
Formation:

1821 as the Manchester Guardian
Founder:

John Edward Taylor
Location:

United Kingdom

Also see The Guardian Foundation, Inc. (nonprofit)

The Guardian is a newspaper based in the United Kingdom that traditionally supports left-wing causes and Britain’s Labour Party. It is a part of the Guardian Media Group, which also owns The Observer and Guardian Weekly.

The Guardian notable for its role in compromising American national security. In 2013, the paper released classified information given to it by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that allegedly detailed domestic surveillance operations by the spy agency.[1] According to intelligence experts, the Snowden leaks have made it more difficult to track terrorists and may potentially put the lives of Americans and others at risk.[2]

History

The Guardian was founded in Manchester, England in 1821 as the Manchester Guardian by John Edward Taylor, a cotton merchant. The newspaper was founded by moderate reformers in the wake of the Peterloo Massacre, which was a cavalry charge into a crowd of demonstrators demanding representation in the British Parliament. The founders of the paper believed that demonstrations and direct action were not persuasive in getting the British government to make liberal reforms.[3]

The paper was careful to strike a moderate tone because at the time, the press was subject to censorship by the British government. The paper’s mission promised to “zealously enforce the principles of civil and religious liberty, warmly advocate the cause of reform, endeavour to assist in the diffusion of just principles of political economy, and support, without reference to the party from which they emanate, all serviceable measures.”[4]

Scott died in 1932. The paper’s ownership was passed to the Scott Media Trust in 1936 which has retained ownership since that time.

Modern Controveries

In more recent times, the paper has tried to influence both British and American politics in a more radical direction. In October 2004, the newspaper published a column that appeared to call for the assassination of then-U.S. President George W. Bush. The paper was forced to remove the column after public outcry.[5] The newspaper has also published op-eds from known Islamists. In 2005, it published an op-ed on alleged anti-Muslim discrimination by Dilpzaier Aslam, a member of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tarhir.[6]

Current Operations

The Guardian has a print edition that had a circulation of 154,000 as of April 2017. That is a decline from 341,000 in April 2005.[7] It also has an online readership of over 25 million readers per month. It has over 7 million likes on Facebook and nearly 7 million followers on Twitter.[8]

References

  1. Greenwald, Glenn, Ewen MacAskill, and Laura Poitras. 2013. “Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind The NSA Surveillance Revelations”. The Guardian. Accessed November 16 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance. ^
  2. Simcox, Robin. 2015. “Don’t Listen To Edward Snowden’s Supporters – His Leaks Have Been A Gift To Terrorists”. The Independent. Accessed November 16 2017. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/dont-listen-to-edward-snowdens-supporters-his-leaks-have-been-a-gift-to-terrorists-10307959.html. ^
  3. Wainwright, Martin. 2007. “Battle For The Memory Of Peterloo: Campaigners Demand Fitting Tribute”. The Guardian. Accessed November 16 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/aug/13/britishidentity.artnews. ^
  4. “The Manchester Guardian, Born 5 May 1821: 190 Years – Work In Progress | Editorial”. 2011. The Guardian. Accessed November 16 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/may/05/manchester-guardian-work-in-progress.[/note]The paper soared to a circulation of 3,000 by the mid-1820s.

    C.P. Scott became editor of the newspaper in 1872 and bought the newspaper from Taylor’s son in 1907. Under Scott, the paper’s editorial line became more radical. It opposed the Boer War in South Africa in 1899 in spite of British public opinion. The paper’s coverage of the war focused on the use of concentration camps by the British in that war.[note]“CP Scott & Boer War: Teaching Resource Of The Month From The GNM Archive, January 2012”. 2012. The Guardian. Accessed November 16 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/gnmeducationcentre/archive-educational-resource-january-2012.[/note] The paper also supported women’s suffrage. However, the paper opposed nearly all direct action taken by the suffragettes.[note] “June Purvis: The Unladylike Behaviour Of The Suffragettes”. 2007. The Guardian. Accessed November 16 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2007/nov/13/research.highereducation. ^

  5. “Left-Wing UK Paper Pulls Bush Assassination Column — 10/25/2004”. 2017. Web.Archive.Org. Accessed November 16 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20041205004038/http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=%5CPolitics%5Carchive%5C200410%5CPOL20041025a.html. ^
  6. Aslam, Dilpazier. 2005. “Dilpazier Aslam: Today’s Muslims Aren’t Prepared To Ignore Injustice”. The Guardian. Accessed November 16 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/13/religion.july7.[/note]

    The newspaper has also been criticized for its coverage of Israel. In 2011, the paper owned up to the “inadvertent” use of anti-Semitic language in its coverage of Israel and the U.S.’s relationship to that country.[note]“U.K.’S Guardian Owns Up To Inadvertent Cases Of Anti-Semitism”. 2015. Haaretz.Com. Accessed November 16 2017. https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/u-k-s-guardian-owns-up-to-inadvertent-cases-of-anti-semitism-1.394851.[/note]

    The paper has also published some articles which have revealed other American intelligence programs. The paper disclosed the top secret collection of Verizon phone records by the U.S. government.[note]“Obama Administration Defends Massive Phone Record Collection”. 2017. U.S.. Accessed November 16 2017. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-wiretaps-verizon/obama-administration-defends-massive-phone-record-collection-idUSBRE95502920130606.[/note] It was also the paper that revealed the Edward Snowden leaks of the NSA’s spy program.[note]Greenwald, Glenn, Ewen MacAskill, and Laura Poitras. 2013. “Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind The NSA Surveillance Revelations”. The Guardian. Accessed November 16 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance. ^

  7. Christopher Williams. 2017. “Guardian To Go Tabloid As It Abandons Berliner Presses In Print Deal With Trinity Mirror”. The Telegraph. Accessed November 16 2017. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/06/11/guardian-go-tabloid-abandons-berliner-presses-print-deal-trinity/. ^
  8. ” The Guardian Readership, Circulation, Rate Card And Facts “. 2017. Newsworks.Org.Uk. Accessed November 17 2017. http://www.newsworks.org.uk/The-Guardian.[/note] It also has a U.S. edition called Guardian U.S.

    The Guardian is set up as a for-profit entity. However, it has consistently lost money in recent years. [note]Christopher Williams. 2017. “Heavy Losses Feared As The Guardian Forecasts It Will Burn £90M In Cash This Year”. The Telegraph. Accessed November 17 2017. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/02/01/heavy-losses-feared-guardian-forecasts-will-burn-90m-cash-year/. ^

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