The Guardian Goes Tabloid – why should you care?
The Guardian started life in 1821 in Manchester as a traditional broadsheet paper. In the 60’s the papers headquarters moved to London. From the early days, the publication positioned itself as a left-of-center voice, and this helped it to compete in Britain’s hyper-competitive newspaper market.
In 2005 The Guardian opted to switch its format to a Berliner. This was an expensive move since it was the online British newspaper to have that format and therefore the only paper needing printing presses specific to the design. It pushed ahead anyway. Then, after years of dwindling readership numbers, in 2011 The Guardian increased its expansion overseas, hiring more than 50 journalists in the United States and Australia- trying to encourage international readers to engage.
Image from The Guardian
More recently, The Guardian has had mixed fortunes. The paper won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of national security leaks in the United States but suffered heavy losses following its attempted international expansion. On Monday 15 January 2018, in order to save costs, the Guardian switched to a tabloid format.
This switch to tabloid comes at a time when the journalism industry in Britain is struggling largely as a result of declining advertising revenues. The loss of finances has resulted in a number of publications making major changes that range from firing the odd journalist to shutting down print operations entirely. Similar changes are occurring the world over in print journalism, and are not likely to stop because of the increasingly important role of digital platforms.
No longer are redesigns about selling more copies. They are about saving money.
The Guardian has been struggling to keep up with changes. Unlike many other publications such as The Times, The Guardian has not set up an online paywall preventing content from being viewed. Instead, The Guardian asks readers for donations in order to help fund its journalism.
The open house strategy of The Guardian seemed to be working with growing international recognition between 2011 and 2015. This was especially the case after the paper ran a series of high profile stories related to illegal phone hacking, and also notably won the Pulitzer Prize following the coverage of documents leaked by Edward Snowden. However, an about turn in fortunes occurred when The Guardian lost £68.7 in the year ending April 2016, and another £44.7 million the following year.
The Guardian has undergone several changes in order to prevent more losses this financial year. Moves include over 300 job cuts and selling stakes in a trade publication group. Such changes are expected to reduce operating costs and The Guardian is expected to break even in 2018/19.
The Guardian bosses are adamant that the changes, which include the switch to tabloid format, will not result in any alternations to the journalism style, and they state that the new tabloid format will actually allow The Guardian to change for the better.
“Our move to tabloid format is a big step towards making The Guardian financially sustainable and ensuring we can continue to invest in agenda-setting journalism for generations to come,” Katharine Viner, editor in chief of Guardian News and Media, said in a statement on Sunday.
Katherine Viner: Twitter
These comments come despite statements in the past that a tabloid format was not in the tradition of the Guardian. Bosses state that the tabloid format of The Guardian is being marketed as a positive and significant change that will offer a ‘space for new voices’ and ‘space for ideas’.
It seems like The Guardian is trying hard to ensure that its readers remain loyal. I saw marketing for the new look Guardian whilst in London- on the Tube and in the station, and I am sure there are other examples of marketing efforts across the UK:
The change of format also has financial benefits because it will allow the paper to be printed by more presses- a strategy that other papers including The Times and The Independent have employed for similar cost saving reasons. The new look Guardian will be printed by presses owned by Trinity Mirror- a company that owns The Daily Mirror, a left-wing tabloid.
Although the new format Guardian is pretty important in journalistic circles and is an interesting move that reflects changes happening in the newspaper world, it is probably less seismic of a change than it would have been a few years ago, largely because so much news consumption is done online.
Also, it has been reported that the change of format will not result in a change in content, and also that the new format is now more in keeping with the design of the Guardian’s website. Additionally the smaller paper will be more portable, and easier to manage for people with time-poor lives.
However critics argue that the new look Guardian has lost the recognizable elements that the paper once had, it is now pretty non-specific and unlikely to engage readers. Readers may get incredibly angry about this newspaper redesign because if they didn’t like them, they felt they had to lump them- at the end of the day, people don't like change. As a result, it is possible that readers will move away from The Guardian now it is in tabloid format.