In an interview to mark 200 years of The Guardian, editor Katharine Viner spoke to Press Gazette about the secret of its longevity.
The Guardian enters its third century in a secure financial position (with just under £1bn in the bank and sustainable losses running at £10-20m annually). And while print circulation continues to decline (to just over 100,000 copies per day), it claims more than 1m paying readers and is the sixth biggest news website in the world with 317m website visits in March 2021.
PG: Congratulations on 200 years in print. What do you think is the secret to The Guardian’s success?
Alan Rusbridger shares lessons of Guardian s success: News sells and purpose should go before profit
Not many companies these days survive more than 20 years before they are gobbled up or die. Yet here’s the Guardian – mocked, loved; vilified, treasured – putting 200 candles on its birthday cake and raising a glass of Prosecco on Zoom.
How does a newspaper last so long? The Guardian was not put on earth to make huge profits, and it seldom has – at least for its owners, the Taylor/Scott family who have, in one form or another, presided over the title since it first hit the streets on 5 May, 1821.
200 years of US coverage: how the Guardian found its feet stateside
Examples of the Guardian’s US coverage over the years. Today the paper has offices in New York, Washington and Oakland, California. Composite: The Guardian
After a patchy start, the Guardian has gone on to become a trusted news source for millions of Americans
Celebrate 200 years of independent Guardian journalism, and help power our future – make a contribution, or become a subscriber.
Wed 5 May 2021 07.00 EDT
Last modified on Wed 26 May 2021 14.46 EDT
When George W Bush launched an illegal invasion of Iraq in a vain search for weapons of mass destruction, there was no shortage of cheerleaders in the US media.
Dean J Hill salutes ‘one of the last bastions of quality journalism with independence’
The Manchester Guardian, first edition, 5 May 1821. Photograph: David McCoy/The Guardian
The Manchester Guardian, first edition, 5 May 1821. Photograph: David McCoy/The Guardian
Letters
Tue 4 May 2021 12.04 EDT
Last modified on Tue 4 May 2021 12.20 EDT
While today’s Guardian might look and feel different to the Manchester Guardian founded in 1821 by the cotton merchant John Edward Taylor (more colour, less time spent folding oversized pages to a comfortable reading position), it is essentially the same product: a paper that champions fundamental causes of national or international significance and enforces the principles of liberty. My first encounter with the Guardian was when I was an undergraduate in Birmingham and, since then, I have considered myself a proud “guardian of the Guardian” – along with so many others who contribute voluntarily to help sustain its quality journa