Sustainability Report 2015
Introduction – David Pemsel, CEO, Guardian News and Media
From 1000 to 130,000,000 readers and still staying true to our values David Pemsel the Guardian News and Media’s new CEO introduces the 2015 Living our Values report theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
It has been an extraordinary year for Guardian News & Media - alongside award-winning journalism, a new look for the website and record-breaking traffic, we had a change of leadership at the top of the organisation. Alan Rusbridger, our editor-in-chief for 20 years, stepped down and Katharine Viner took his place; and I was delighted to take over from Andrew Miller as CEO of Guardian Media Group in July.
When the Manchester Guardian launched in 1821, it had 1000 readers, was published weekly, and ran to just four pages. Since then we’ve evolved from a much-respected national print newspaper to a leading global news and media brand with a growing worldwide audience accessing our journalism every minute of every day. Today, theguardian.com attracts over 130 million unique browsers a month and is one of the largest English-speaking quality newspaper websites in the world. Since launching our US and Australia digital editions, traffic from outside the UK now represents over two-thirds of our total digital audience.
We are also immensely proud of the awards we have won: Website of the Year, App of the Year, Innovation of the Year and World’s Best Designed Newspaper are just a handful bestowed on the Guardian and Observer by their peers over the last 12 months. There were also wins at the Webby Awards and our colleagues in Australia won Scoop of the Year, with ABC News, at the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism, for their piece on how Australia’s spy agencies targeted the Indonesian president’s mobile phone.
Also amongst our clutch of awards was the Editorial Campaign of the Year at the British Media Awards, which we took for our campaign to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). In March, we launched Keep it in the Ground, a climate change campaign for fossil fuel divestment. The campaign encourages institutions, universities, companies, charities, pension funds and other institutions to take their money out of oil, coal and gas companies for both moral and financial reasons. It continues to gather support - including that of Guardian Media Group itself, whose £800m+ cash and investment fund is now the largest fund to pull out of fossil fuels.
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In addition, we have made great efforts to reduce the physical, environmental and cost impacts of our digital infrastructure. We have built a platform which provides stability, scalability and flexibility of access, whilst reducing the need for technical kit and improving energy efficiency. Following the infrastructure redesign project at our Bracknell data centre we have removed more than 50% of the physical servers, reducing energy usage from our data centres by 14%.
As always, technical innovation has been at the heart of our business. In January, after 18 months of development and a ‘soft launch’ in the US and Australia, the new-look website - theguardian.com - was unveiled to readers in the UK and the rest of the world. This has proved to be immensely popular and has helped see traffic rise by almost 35% year-on-year. We have also introduced a prominently-displayed labelling system which helps to distinguish straightforward reporting from sponsored or commercial content. This sits alongside an explanation of the labelling so that readers know who has editorial control.
We have also continued to invest in our greatest asset - our people - ensuring they can access training that helps them to capitalise on their skills and develop their career, while contributing to the success of the organisation.
Over the last year we ran three initiatives designed to attract and nurture talented people from a wide range of backgrounds, many of whom we hope may play an important part in the future of Guardian News & Media: our Graduate Programme, our Apprentice Programme for young people, aged between 17 and 19, and our Digital Journalism trainee scheme.
We also recognise that our organisation needs strong and effective leaders, so one of our priorities in 2014/2015 was the development of leadership capabilities across GNM. The aim was to challenge, inspire and provoke leaders into fresh ways of thinking, which we did through a programme of workshops. The feedback continues to be excellent.
As part of our ambition to make our reporting and coverage as wide-ranging and representative as possible, we ran three citizen reporting projects in South Africa , India and Brazil . They helped to unearth stories from marginalised communities, which were shared with the rest of the world. We also ran diverse voices seminars in the UK and USA and a number of unconscious bias workshops, the aim of which was to make sure that our recruitment processes remain open, fair, and values diversity.
We continue to invest in social justice journalism, teaming up with charitable foundations to highlight issues of particular interest to our readership. Guardian Cities was launched in
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2014 to create a fresh and engaging online hub where people could talk about urban life and the future of cities around the world. The women’s rights and gender equality in focus series on the Global development site launched in February 2014 to examine issues affecting women, girls and transgender people around the world, and the critical work being carried out by women’s rights movements. Both initiatives continue to spark interest and debate.
We have also continued to support our local community partners through joint projects, sharing ideas, resources and staff volunteering.
Everything we do is underpinned by the Scott Trust values of honesty, cleanness (today interpreted as integrity), courage, fairness and a sense of duty to the reader and the community. Our vision is to be a leader on sustainability in the media sector. I believe our efforts this year mean we are firmly on track.
Overview – performance and highlights
Our sustainability goals: are we hitting the target?
Guardian News & Media’s (GNM) sustainability performance is measured in four distinct areas. Read on to find out how we did in 2014/15
Living our Values: 2015 performance theguardian.com Tuesday 15 September 2015 10.00
At Guardian News & Media (GNM), our sustainability programme focuses on making sure that our values of honesty, cleanness (integrity), courage, fairness, a sense of duty to the reader and the community remain at the heart of our business. We interpret the values and measure our performance in four areas:
• People and community: are we forming partnerships for sustainable growth?
• Open and independent: are we building a trusted relationship with an engaged audience?
• Climate responsibility: are we reducing the cost and impact of our operations?
• Good business: are we building and protecting the brand and revenue by living our values?
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The 2015 performance report is an overview of the progress we made last year and answers these questions:
How did we do?
What did we learn?
Where are we going?
The report allows you to find out more by clicking on the projects. You can share your feedback by commenting at the bottom of the article.
Governance
How our governance structure supports sustainability Sustainability is integrated into the governance structure at Guardian News & Media (GNM), right from board level to a network of advocates in departments across the business theguardian.comTuesday 15 September 2015
Guardian News & Media’s governance structure supports the integration of sustainability across the business. Neil Berkett continues as chair of GMG. Suzy Black, Group HR director, remains in the role of sustainability champion on the GNM executive committee. Reporting to Suzy Black is Paula Tsung, Head of Workplace and Sustainability for GNM. Paula leads a team of three people: Christopher Hodgson, environment and sustainability manager, a community partnerships co-ordinator (to be recruited), and Jan Stevens, sustainability co- ordinator.
Advocates
The team is supported by a number of committed departmental advocates who help to spread the word about sustainability. They make sure that everyone in the business is kept up to date with our objectives and what they need to do, as individuals and teams, to make sure we achieve them.
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Governance structure chart Photograph: PR
Members of the advocate network meet on a quarterly basis, to review sustainability action plans for each department and engage with external stakeholders on sustainability issues.
Changing structure
Working on a medium-term strategy and consistently living The Scott Trust values, we can be one organisation where everyone counts. To meet the strategic needs of the organisation, the department will be repositioned over the next year and will take on responsibility for internal diversity and inclusion.
Feedback
Every year we collect feedback from stakeholders, giving them a chance to have their say about how we’re doing: we survey our readers, asking them to share their thoughts on everything – from the food we sell in our staff restaurants to the environmental impact of
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our print sites – and we do the same with employees. You can read the findings of our most recent readers’ survey here . The results of our latestemployee survey are here .
Our work with community partnerships is a very important part of our sustainability work. This includes projects with young people, environmental groups, schools, older people, and inclusion activities. Find out more about what we do on our community website here .
We continue to work with corporate sustainability agency DNV GL . They examine data and review aspects of performance when it comes to climate responsibility. Their findings help to reassure us about our approach and tell us what we need to do, to make it even better in the future.
•Read about our sustainability performance here
View from you
What do our readers think about our performance? Every year we ask our readers for a ‘report card’. This year, we updated the survey to help us identify what matters most to our global readers. We wanted to find out how they expect us to live our values and measure how our performance influences our relationship with them
Are we passing the test when it comes to living our values? theguardian.com Tuesday 15 September 2015
This year, between 29 April and 16 May 2015, 3598 readers from around the world took part in our online readers’ survey. The key findings were:
• Readers want us to campaign on important social and environmental issues.
• There is a lack of awareness on certain topics.
• Those in Australia are, overall, the most engaged and interested in how we live our values.
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How does our audience feel about the way we behave as an organisation/business?
When asked to choose from a list of what they would find most worrying if it was to happen at the Guardian, the top answer was if the Guardian ignored views, facts and opinions in our journalism and provided one-sided or unbalanced editorial (55%). 53% think they would find the Guardian entering a sponsorship deal with organisations who are found to be violating human rights, maintain damaging environmental practices or are involved in unethical financial behaviour the most worrying. Those in the US would be more worried about ‘The Guardian not being clear with the audience about who has written or influenced content when it is paid for by a third party’ than the UK (53% vs 39%).
When asked which products or services they think the Guardian should not advertise or sell, the top answer was unethical financial investment products or services (79%), followed by products or services with high risk of human rights violations within their supply chain (71%), and pornography (66%). 75% of Australians don’t think we should advertise or sell gambling, compared to 44% in the US. 66% of those in the UK don’t think we should advertise or sell gambling. Those in the UK are also more likely to say we shouldn’t advertise or sell pornography (71%) than those in any other region.
Satisfaction levels for our open and ethical behaviour were very low, with the exception of our performance in responsible editorial that upholds our integrity, independence and creativity (79%) and supporting local and global communities (55%). But this is because lots of people don’t know what we do in the other areas. Once we exclude “don’t know”, fair treatment of all staff and environmental sustainability of our print operations rises to 60% and 54% satisfaction respectively. Responsible advertising and selling of products and services has the second lowest percentage of those who are satisfied (58%). However, 65% are satisfied with the transparency on paid for content and 62% by the safe storage, management and use of personal data.
GNM Openness
Almost everyone (95%) agrees that it is important for businesses to be open and transparent with readers, customers and suppliers in the way in which they operate. 60% agree that the Guardian is open about its business practices. Again, it’s likely that a lot of people ‘don’t know’ – only 4% disagree.
17% of people were not aware of any of our practices to increase openness at GNM. Around two fifths are aware of Comment is free (63%) and online commenting (61%) – these are the
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openness practices people are most likely to be aware of. 43% are aware of the Guardian’s Corrections and clarifications column - 55% in the UK. Only 12% are aware of the Guardian citizen reporting programme, although awareness is slightly higher outside the UK.
Corrections and clarifications is most important to people (85%), followed by Comment is free (83%) and the privacy and data site (80%). The Living our Values sustainability site (72%), is particularly valued in Australia (79%). Looking just at those who are aware of these four, the privacy and data site comes out as the most important (96%).
GNM Engagement
When asked how the open and ethical approach of the Guardian has influenced them, 77% said that it has made them read more Guardian content as opposed to an alternative news source. Over a third (34%) have used social media to share an article, 24% have signed in on the website or app, and 22% have downloaded the app. We have also seen that some people have been encouraged to read or engage with sponsored content (9%) or buy advertised products/services (9%). This score maybe low due to a lack of awareness of our open and ethical performance.
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39% have seen advertising or sponsored content that has made them lose trust in a publication or change their reading habits, 8% of which happened to them with the Guardian. The main reasons why people lost trust in the Guardian were: impropriety or hypocrisy (advert or sponsorship that contradicted editorial); bias or inaccuracy and issues of editorial integrity with regards to unclear adverts and sponsored content.
In some cases this loss of trust has led to a loss of readership, for some is was more temporary anger - “I punched a cushion”- and for others it’s a change in perception - “Filed Guardian under corporate machine that employees naïve hipsters”.
How does our audience feel about our content and campaigning?
What do you want to read?
Privacy, freedom of speech and truth was the issue that was important to most of our readers - 95%. This was the top issue in all regions. Those in Australia were most likely to say they were interested in all the listed issues.
91% of Australians are interested in media ethics, compared to 75% in the Middle East and Africa.
Privacy, freedom of speech and truth was the issue that the most readers think we cover well (91%). Alternative business models is the issue the fewest readers think we cover well (75%), but 18% don’t know.
How well people think we cover issues is related to their interest – those who are interested in a topic are much more likely to think we cover the topic well than those who aren’t interested. For example, 90% of those who are interested in financial and business ethics think we cover the topic well, compared to 57% who are not interested. Of those who are interested, the topics we perform best on are climate change (93% think we cover it well), and privacy, freedom of speech and truth (93%). The one that comes in lowest is alternative business models - 80% think we cover this well.
67% agree they specifically come to the Guardian to read about social and/or environmental justice issues. This is highest in Canada, where 76% agree. Three quarters (75%) agree that the Guardian’s coverage of these kinds of topics makes them feel more positively about the Guardian, with this being highest in Australia (82%) and lowest in the Middle East and Africa (64%).
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What is the role and impact of our journalism?
Three quarters think the Guardian should campaign on issues. This is 85% in the UK compared to 65% in the US. Almost a third (32%) think we should be campaigning more than we do now – again, this is highest in the UK (41%) and lowest in the US (23%).
61% think we should be campaigning on the topic of human and community rights, 60% on privacy, freedom of speech and truth and 58% on climate change. When asked what would be useful for them during a campaign, the top answer was surveys and data about what readers/the general public think (56%). 46% would like follow up pieces on the impact of the campaign, 45% other sources of information, ideas and funding (e.g. checklists, case studies etc.) and 44% video, articles, infographics, animation.
Just over half (54%) say the Guardian’s coverage has encouraged them to change their behaviour or attitudes. Of those who say they have, the most common change was to have spoken to friends, family or colleagues about issues raised (76%). 39% of these people have boycotted a company or product, 35% have chosen to use an ethical company/products and 33% have become more political or got involved in political action.
Does our audience believe we uphold our editorial purpose?
We can’t be the organisation we want to be without the trust of our readers so, do we uphold our editorial purpose?
84% agree that the Guardian’s news coverage is trustworthy.
80% agree that the Guardian’s news coverage is independent. Australians are most likely to agree (89%), with those in the Middle East and Africa least likely to agree (70%).
74% agree that the Guardian’s news coverage is courageous. 83% agree that the Guardian brings information into the public domain that would otherwise remain hidden
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Are we representing societal groups accurately?
73% agree that the Guardian gives a voice to under-represented groups in society across the world
Readers are most likely to agree that the Guardian’s coverage accurately reflects the experience of all genders (74%), followed by all sexual orientations (71%) and all ethnicities (62%).
48% agree it reflects all disabilities, which is the lowest percentage, but has the largest percentage of people answering ‘neither agree nor disagree’, suggesting many people don’t know. Lots of people said they haven’t really seen any articles covering this area.
51% agree the Guardian’s coverage accurately reflects the experience of all religions and beliefs. Of those who think it doesn’t, some felt it was anti-Christian/anti-religious, whereas others felt that we only represented the main religions. Many people also felt that it wasn’t possible for any news organisation to reflect all religions and beliefs.
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Reflection of you from where you come from?
69% agree that the Guardian presents a broad range of perspectives from a diverse range of contributors. Those in Canada are most likely to agree (73%), and those in Asia least likely (61%).
Similarly, readers were most likely to agree that our contributors and journalists reflect all genders (73%), and least likely to think they represent those with disabilities (48%) and all socio-economic backgrounds (48%).
67% agree that the Guardian’s global coverage is from and for those places it reports on. Those in Australia are most likely to agree with this (75%), and those in Asia (59%), the Middle East and Africa (57%) are least likely to agree. There is strong evidence that shows if a reader feels contributors are from more diverse backgrounds, they feel our reporting is more accurate in reflecting the experiences of different groups.
So, what do we do with this information? We believe that being open and honest with our readers is crucial to living our values and our success as a business. Clearly we need to do more to communicate our efforts to be an ethical business. We’ll share the specific findings with relevant departments so that we can understand the implications and opportunities for change.
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Assurance – carbon and environmental data
Auditor gives sustainability report the all clear
Our auditors are happy with the reliability and accuracy of the carbon and environmental data in the Living our Values 2015 report
Auditors have confirmed accuracy of carbon and environmental data in the guardian sustainability report theguardian.com Tuesday 15 September 2015 Share on LinkedIn
Guardian News and Media Limited (“Guardian”) commissioned DNV GL Business Assurance Services UK Limited (“DNV GL”) to undertake independent data verification of selected environmental indicators in the Living our Values Report 2014/2015 (“LoV 2014/15 Report”) for the reporting year ended 29 March 2015.
The scope of our data verification includes the following six carbon management and operational efficiency KPIs in the Climate Responsibility Section:
Carbon management:
• Total carbon emissions
• Carbon efficient digital media
• Carbon efficient print media
Operational efficiency :
• Data Centre efficiency
• Unproductive energy
• Building energy
The review of other data and content within the LoV 2014/15 Report and financial data from the Annual Report and Accounts was not within the scope of our work.
Opinion
On the basis of the work undertaken, in terms of reliability of the carbon and operation efficiency data in scope, nothing came to our attention to suggest that these data have not
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been properly collated from information reported at operational level, nor that the assumptions utilised were inappropriate. We are not aware of any errors that would materially affect the data presented.
Our methodology and approach
We planned and performed our work to obtain the evidence we considered necessary to provide a basis for our data verification opinion. We used the methodology described below to evaluate the accuracy, comparability and timeliness of the carbon management and operational efficiency data in scope, as well as the reliability of underlying data management systems for how data should be measured, recorded and reported.
We evaluated the carbon management and operational efficiency indicators using the reliability principle from the GRI’s Principles for Defining Report Quality.
We planned and performed our work to obtain the evidence we considered necessary to provide a basis for our data verification opinion. We are providing a “limited level” of data verification.
A multi-disciplinary team of sustainability and verification specialists performed work at headquarters and site level. We undertook the following activities:
• Visit to the Guardian’s headquarters in London to assess full year data for the carbon and operational efficiency data in scope. This involved reviewing and sample checking the measurement, collection and reporting processes;
• Interviews with data owners who are responsible for oversight and implementation of data gathering, aggregation and quality control for the performance indicators included within the scope of data verification;
• Review of the controls and supporting evidence for the collation of data and consolidation process through interview with the Environment and Sustainability Manager to understand how the carbon and operational data in scope are represented in the LoV Report 2014/15 and that this has been represented accurately;
• Tested the KPI figures reported were consolidated from source spreadsheets and source data into the main spreadsheet correctly. Reviewed and clarified that all relevant sites/business operations were included in the data aggregation, collation and consolidation for relevant performance indicators in scope;
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• For relevant performance indicators in scope, checked that conversion factors were in line with the 2014 Defra carbon conversion factors;
• Site visit to the Guardian Print Centre to review process and systems for preparing site level sustainability data and checking data consolidation at site level. The site visit involved a site tour, interviews with the provider of the data for environmental reporting, and testing a sample of reported data back to source evidence; and
• Interviews with selected senior managers responsible for management of sustainability issues.
Responsibilities of Guardian News and Media and of the data verification providers
The Guardian has sole responsibility for the preparation of the LoV 2014/15 Report. In performing our data verification work, our responsibility is to the management of the Guardian; however our statement represents our independent opinion and is intended to inform all of its stakeholders. DNV GL was not involved in the preparation of any statements or data included in the LoV 2014/15 Report except for this Data Verification Statement.
We have advised the Guardian in the past on its approach to responsible paper sourcing. This role moved primarily to one of assuring the sourcing data five years ago – which we view as fully compatible with our overall data verification role.
DNV GL’s verification engagements are based on the assumption that the data and information provided by the Guardian to us as part of our review have been provided in good faith. DNV GL expressly disclaims any liability or co-responsibility for any decision a person or an entity may make based on this Data Verification Statement.
Observations and recommendations
Without affecting our data verification opinion, and recognising the overall progress made by the Guardian in the areas covered by the data in the scope of the exercise, we make the following observations and recommendations:
We observed that the Guardian uses non-automated (manual) data transfers between raw data files and consolidated reports. Due to the large number of different raw data files, there may be a potential risk of error or misinterpretation, especially if the data owners responsible for these activities were to change. We recommend that the Guardian reviews its data processes to identify opportunities to minimise manual transfers of data. Please also see the recommendation below;
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We found that there was no formal, documented guidance for the data capture, calculation and aggregation. We recommend that the Guardian considers developing a methodology reporting manual which includes clear definitions of the calculation methodology used, the scope and boundary for each KPI, the data review, checking and audit processes and the data owners responsible for these activities;
With regards to Energy Processing Efficiency, we observed that there were no formal targets for energy use at the print sites, nor for energy reduction and efficiency at business operations. We recommend that, where appropriate, the Guardian develops SMART targets; and
The traffic light colour coding system displayed in the LoV Report 2014/15 was only linked to a percentage threshold for change from the previous year. We recommend linking these to actual target performance to increase transparency on current performance levels.
In previous years, interviews with management highlighted that there was room to improve internal communication on sustainability. This was reflected again in this year’s management interviews. We recognise that embedding sustainability across the whole organisation is a continuous journey, and recommend Guardian to continue to adopt and develop its long term approach and strategy for integrating and embedding sustainability across the organisation
For and on behalf of DNV GL Business Assurance Services UK Limited London, UK 7 September 2015
Tracy Oates Principal Consultant and Lead Assuror UK Sustainability, DNV GL – Business Assurance
Kate Bruintjes Principal Consultant and Reviewer UK Sustainability, DNV GL – Business Assurance
DNV GL Business Assurance Services UK Limited is part of DNV GL – Business Assurance, a global provider of certification, verification, assessment and training services, helping customers to build sustainable business performance. www.dnvgl.com
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Editorial
The changing of the guard
A new look for the website, record-breaking traffic, award-winning journalism and a new editor-in-chief: it’s been a busy 12 months at Guardian News & Media theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
“I intend to lead a media organisation that is bold, challenging, open and engaging. It will be a home for the most ambitious journalism, ideas and events, setting the agenda and reaching out to readers all around the world.” The words of Katharine Viner, in a statement released shortly after her appointment as editor-in-chief of the Guardian and Observer was announced in March 2015.
Viner was appointed after an open recruitment process that, for the first time in the Guardian’s history, was open to international candidates. The process also included an editorial hustings session, where internal candidates could put their case to their editorial colleagues who then voted for their favoured candidate (Viner took more than 50% of the votes).
In the post-announcement press release, the editor in waiting referred to the ‘remarkable tenure’ of editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger, who stepped down from the role in the summer. Rusbridger will take over as chair of The Scott Trust in 2016.
Since his appointment in 1995, the Guardian’s 10th editor has overseen what can only be described as seismic change, both within the media industry and Guardian News & Media itself. One of the most notable developments during his tenure was the phenomenal growth of the Guardian online or, as it is known today, theguardian.com
A new look for theguardian.com
In January, after 18 months of development and a ‘soft launch’ in the US and Australia, the new-look theguardian.com was unveiled to readers in the UK and the rest of the world. Writing on the Inside the Guardian blog, Wolfgang Blau, director of digital strategy commented: “On any given day, Guardian readers are using thousands of different types of devices to read, view, discuss and share our journalism with each other. The amount of device types on which you can access the Guardian will only continue to increase. So, we want to make sure that we always provide you with a consistent, fast-loading, familiar and pleasurable experience, whatever your screen size.”
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Although initially users’ reviews of the new site were mixed, in the same month as it officially launched, the new-look theguardian.com attracted a record-breaking 120m unique browsers according to figures released by Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). Helped by the news agenda, traffic rose 14% month-on-month and almost 35% year-on-year. Monthly page views were also up by more than 25% year-on-year.
The growth was seen across all territories, with a rise of more than 21% year-on-year in the UK, and more than 42% year-on-year across the rest of the world. Mobile traffic also saw a staggering increase of 98% since January 2014.
Awards success
Website of the Year, App of the Year, Innovation of the year and World’s Best Designed Newspaper : just a handful of the awards bestowed on the Guardian and Observer by their peers over the last 12 months. Individual awards went to Martin Chulov who won the prestigious Orwell prize for journalism for his coverage of the Middle East; Observer columnist Nick Cohen took a prize in the commentator category in the European Press Prize awards and Luke Harding won the James Cameron award for his work covering events in the Ukraine and Russia.
There were also wins at the Webby Awards and our colleagues in Australia won Scoop of the Year, with ABC News, at the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism, for their piece on how Australia’s spy agencies targeted the Indonesian president’s mobile phone. Guardian Australia reporter Paul Daley also won the Coverage of Indigenous Affairs award ( see a full list of awards here ).
Campaigns
Among the clutch of awards given to the Guardian & Observer over the last 12 months was the Editorial Campaign of the Year at the British Media Awards, which the paper took for its campaign to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).
In March, the FGM campaign was followed by Keep it in the ground . Launched in partnership with 350.org, it’s a campaign for fossil fuel divestment. Divestment is the offloading of stocks, bonds or funds from particular sectors or companies. The campaign for fossil fuel divestment is asking institutions, universities, companies, charities, pension funds and so on to take their money out of oil, coal and gas companies for both moral and financial reasons.
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Reflections
The impetus for the campaign came from, among other things, Alan Rusbridger’s reflection on his time as editor-in-chief. In a piece he wrote for the launch of Keep it in the ground, he said: “I have very few regrets, I thought, except this one: that we had not done justice to this huge, overshadowing, overwhelming issue of how climate change will probably, within the lifetime of our children, cause untold havoc and stress to our species.
“So, in the time left to me as editor, I thought I would try to harness the Guardian’s best resources to describe what is happening and what – if we do nothing – is almost certain to occur, a future that one distinguished scientist has termed as “incompatible with any reasonable characterisation of an organised, equitable and civilised global community.
“The usual rule of newspaper campaigns is that you don’t start one unless you know you’re going to win it. This one will almost certainly be won in time: the physics is unarguable. But we are launching our campaign in the firm belief that it will force the issue now into the boardrooms and inboxes of people who have billions of dollars at their disposal.”
In its initial stages, the Keep it in the ground campaign focused on persuading the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust – the world’s two biggest charitable funds - to move their money out of fossil fuels. Within two months, more than 200,000 people had signed a petition, urging them to do that.
“Farewell, readers”
“Next week, for the first time in 20 years, I will have stepped off the hamster wheel of news,” wrote Alan Rusbridger in a letter addressed to readers as he stepped down as editor-in-chief at the end of May. In a piece that looked back at two decades of an editorship that saw sweeping changes at the paper and within the industry, Alan thanked readers for their support, engagement, response and argument. “I’ve noticed that some of the most devoted readers tend to carbon-date themselves by editor… but, in the end, we editors just pass through. We all know that you, the readers, are the real carriers of the flame.”
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Guardian readers’ editor
Chris Elliott, Guardian readers’ editor
The devil is still in the detail
Aside from complaints about advertising and some commercial activity, accuracy - or rather the lack of it - is still the main source of irritation when it comes to our readers theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
The number of complaints to the readers’ editor’s office jumped to a record level of 29,551 over the 12-month period to March 2015 – 3,000 more than for the same period during the previous year. It is not clear why but the number of monthly browsers for the Guardian increased from 100m to more than 120m in the same period, which may give a clue.
Developments
One of the most significant developments last year was the end of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), which folded to be replaced by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) in September. The Guardian was a member of the former but is not part of the latter. To make sure that readers who disagree with decisions of the readers’ editor can seek a review, the Guardian set up an independent panel . Those whose complaints have not been resolved to their satisfaction after going through our internal complaints procedures can have them adjudicated by the panel.
The panel applies the editors’ code of practice, formerly used by the Press Complaints Commission (the PCC code). So far, eight complaints have been escalated. Of those, four have been resolved. Three of the four were entirely rejected and in a fourth case, one of six articles complained about was amended as a result of the panel’s findings. The number of published corrections and clarifications has remained stable in the same 12-month period: the total in print was 1,022 while the total online, which includes those in print, was 2,604.
Advertising
Some of the notable complaints in the past year challenged commercial decisions. On 11 August 2014, the Guardian published – in print only – a full-page advertisement “organised, produced and paid for by This World: The Values Network, the world’s leading organisation promoting universal Jewish values in culture, media and politics”. This advertisement featured Elie Wiesel, a Nobel peace laureate. It was headed: “Jews rejected child sacrifice
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3,500 years ago. Now it’s Hamas’ turn”. Wiesel wrote that he had seen “Muslim children used as human shields” and called for an end to “child sacrifice”.
As I said in an Open Door column , where the bigger complaints are discussed, it was a controversial advertisement by any standards and the Times of London refused to publish it. However newspapers in the US did, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. There were more than 350 complaints to the readers’ editor. Most objections turned on the comparison, as one reader put it, “between the genocide of Jewish children during the Holocaust and the killing of children in Gaza through Israeli military aggression”.
I consider that Wiesel made these comparisons to the Holocaust, and between Hamas and the Nazis, in an attempt to justify the killing of Palestinian children and shift the blame for their deaths on to Hamas. I felt that the advertisement should not have been run in the form in which it was submitted. No similar advertisements have been published by the Guardian since.
Criticism
Another commercial venture of the Guardian that irritated readers was emails going out to readers promoting Gowager, an interactive betting service that was launched in December 2013. A reader, with whom I agreed, felt that the problem was not that we carried advertising for gambling. It was rather that an unsolicited email, which counted as active promotion, actively encouraged readers to take up gambling. The complaints came in as the Guardian was carrying out a review of retail service offers such as Gowager and it was decided to withdraw the service.
The launch of the Guardian’s new website brought heavy criticism. So did the decision to commission Kelvin Mackenzie, the former editor of the Sun, to write a column in which he said he admitted that the Sun had maligned minorities. Many readers felt that his role as editor of the Sun in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster was unforgivable and that he should never have been given even one commission in the Guardian. However, most of the complaints submitted to the readers’ editor continue to be about accuracy.
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Observer readers’ editor
Stephen Pritchard, Guardian readers’ editor
Community standards: there for a reason
Readers are becoming increasingly agitated when moderators intervene in comment threads. But, says the Observer’s readers’ editor, there’s no conspiracy, just a desire to stick to the standards theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
As the total number of comments posted on our website now exceeds 40,000 a day, it’s perhaps not surprising that complaints about moderation are increasing. Observer readers often seem unaware of community standards designed to keep the party polite or are offended that their posts have been removed when they believe they have not broken any rules.
I have noticed an increase in appeals from readers claiming their contributions have been excised in what they see as some sort of conspiracy to silence them. It can be a time- consuming exercise to ask the moderators to return to the thread and justify their decisions, only to find that readers, anxious to get their point across, have simply ignored the guidelines.
I addressed this in a column last November when several wrote – or Tweeted – that their posts had been removed under a profile of Lord Saatchi. They accused the moderators of trying to skew the debate and suggested the author of the profile had intervened in the moderation process. I was able to tell them firmly that no writer can influence the moderators and that their comments had been removed on the advice of our lawyers.
So, no conspiracy to silence anyone; no attempt to skew the debate. Instead, a cool adherence by the moderators to the community standard that states: “We will remove any content that may put us in legal jeopardy, such as potentially libellous or defamatory postings.” As the profile author noted: “There is an increasing tendency to jump to hysterical conclusions in the heady righteousness of the Twittersphere.”
Duty of care
Two months later, moderation underneath another Observer piece caused a further wave of protest. The feature concerned the shocking story of a woman’s torment during six years of forced prostitution. Concerns over the veracity of her story were raised several times by readers , only to find their comments removed. One wrote: “My first post has completely
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vanished: it expressed concern that previous posts raising questions about the journalistic underpinnings of the piece had been deleted and raised the issue of trust. I am particularly unhappy about that post being taken down without a placeholder noting its removal. I always find the total deletion of a post troubling: transparency surely demands that readers can see if the moderators have removed a number of posts. Looking back through the comments thread now, I see gaping holes where a number of people politely challenged the narrative.”
I asked the senior community moderator manager why his team had removed so many. “We are very sensitive when an article is about sexual abuse,” he replied. “We have a duty of care towards the victim, which means we allow a less robust examination of their experiences than we would on a less personally sensitive and triggering subject.” He added that the guidelines warn that when a comment or post is removed, it is often necessary to delete subsequent posts that refer to or quote from the original removed comment, to preserve some notion of conversational thread. In such cases, not every deletion will be marked individually as this then clutters the comments.
Complaints
Complaints about moderation (usually unjustified) occupied just some of the 3,900 email exchanges I had with readers last year. Others concerned our coverage of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; the correct naming of Islamic State; women in sport (again); updating corrections; unfair treatment of private railway companies; suicide coverage , and – always – plain matters of accuracy.
Fact checking
Readers are quick to tell us when we have our facts wrong. Once verified, it’s a reasonably simple matter to correct and footnote the online version of a story but it’s a whole week to wait for a correction to appear in print, something that seems increasingly anachronistic in a digital world. Sometimes, complaints will take months to investigate and resolve. A Magazine piece ran in November but it was not until March that I was able to write a column about it. The piece had alleged that British troops had fired on Greek protesters in Athens in December 1944, just days after they had been fighting on the same side. Academics protested and it was not until Professor Andre Gerolymatos held a conference on the subject at his university in British Columbia that he could conclude that the witnesses the paper had spoken to were probably misled. The paper’s mistake was to report those recollections as fact, rather than attribute the assertions directly to those who were there on that fateful day.
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Spreading the word
Last year, I reported on efforts by the Organization of News Ombudsmen to establish a training course for new readers’ editors. At our Cape Town conference it was agreed that I should seek funding to begin this training in Africa, as new appointments look likely in Kenya and Uganda. I’m currently talking to academics in Nairobi with the aim of starting the course there.
Guardian foundation
A firm foundation for the future of journalism
‘A sense of duty to the reader and the community’ is one of the Scott Trust Values. With the work it does in the areas of journalism training, human rights and the right to information, the Guardian Foundation is bringing those words to life. theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
The Guardian Foundation is a registered charity. It concentrates its effort in three areas: education, human rights and the right to education.
Education
The Foundation runs the Scott Trust bursary scheme. The scheme helps students who are facing financial difficulty to get the qualifications they need to pursue a career in media. A bursary pays for tuition fees and includes a subsistence allowance of £6,000. The benefits also include several weeks of work experience at the Guardian Media Group.
There are five bursaries available: two at City University, London (MA in Newspaper Journalism) ; one at Goldsmiths College, University of London (MA in Journalism) ; and two bursaries at the University of Sheffield (MA in Newspaper Journalism) .
The Foundation particularly encourages graduates from diverse social and/or ethnic backgrounds to apply, to help ensure that all groups in society are represented within media. Past beneficiaries have gone on to successful careers at a variety of media organisations. Recipients include Guardian journalists Gary Younge, Homa Khaleeli and Lanre Bakare.
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Access to information
The Foundation’s work in the area of rights to information focuses on increasing the capacity and working lives of journalists in Turkey and the Balkans. The Foundation is working with Article 19 , a charity whose mission is to defend the right to freedom of expression and freedom of information across the world; and P24 , an initiative that promotes editorial independence in the Turkish press (find out more here ).
Project
A recent project saw 10 journalists, drawn from a variety of backgrounds, receive a grant to investigate a range of research topics. The topics included proposed renewal of nuclear warheads in 2015, abortion practices in public and private hospitals, the 1915 Armenian deportation records, government expenses and urban renewal projects.
Article 19 and P24 organised a training programme for the 10 journalists on how to use freedom of information laws for investigative journalism. Heather Brooke, the Guardian journalist who broke the story of the MPs’ expenses scandal in the UK, delivered the training along with Yaman Akdeniz. Akdeniz is the Turkish professor and lawyer who took the Turkish government to court over the banning of YouTube in Turkey last year and won.
The project will be followed up with an online guide for journalists, based on the training course materials, that will cover the basic principles of international law on the right to information; how to request information under Turkish law; tips and case stories from other countries.
The Foundation is also responsible for the upkeep of archive material that charts the histories of the Guardian and Observer, the Education Centre and exhibitions at Kings Place (the home of the Guardian and Observer) designed to highlight the Scott Trust values in a very public way.
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Guardian foundation
Our philanthropic partnerships
In order to invest in social justice journalism, the Guardian teams up with charitable funders to highlight issues of particular interest to the paper. Here you can read about some of our major partnerships theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
Our Global Development website is funded by support provided, in part, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The content follows Guardian News & Media’s (GNM) published editorial code and is editorially independent. The site was launched in 2010 to give special focus on global development, particularly the millennium development goals — the eight targets set out in 2000 by the United Nations Millennium Declaration - with the aim of improving the lives of the world’s poorest people by 2015. The content includes comment from a range of voices around the globe, as well as news, features, debate, data and student resources.
Guardian Cities
Guardian Cities was launched in 2014 to create a fresh and engaging online hub where people could talk about urban life and the future of cities around the world. The site includes opinion and analysis from a range of voices across the globe, along with news, graphics and data. Although supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the site is editorially independent of any sponsorship.
Modern day slavery in focus
This series is supported, in part, by Humanity United, a US-based foundation that focuses on building peace and advancing freedom. The content is editorially independent and covers modern day slavery. Although slavery was abolished by most countries in the 19th century, bonded and forced labour, trafficking and exploitation persist. The series uncovers abuses often hidden from public view and investigates the root causes of this ongoing abuse, looking at potential solutions. Through investigative reporting, analysis and debate, the series unpicks a complex issue that touches the lives of millions of people in communities everywhere, from the richest cities to the poorest villages in the world.
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Women’s rights and gender equality
The women’s rights and gender equality in focus series on the Global development site launched in February 2014 to examine issues affecting women, girls and transgender people around the world, and the critical work being carried out by women’s rights movements.
The series was made possible by funding from the Ford Foundation and Mama Cash , which is also an advisory partner. The site is solely responsible for all journalistic output. Along with Mama Cash, the Guardian is also working in partnership with the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (Awid). As expert partners, Mama Cash and Awid put the team in touch with women’s rights advocates, organisations and movements around the world.
Operations
Global reach: light touch
The way in which we produce news stories and other content has changed hugely since both the Guardian and Observer first appeared on paper hundreds of years ago. Here, we look at how we manage what we do to keep our environmental footprint to a minimum theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
There’s no doubt that a digital infrastructure has helped Guardian News & Media to become the global news organisation that it is today. But we work hard to reduce the impact this makes on the environment.
We have built systems and technical platforms that are stable, scalable and flexible. They are more energy efficient, require us to use fewer computers and devices and they allow for remote working. These upgrades are estimated to have reduced global network carrier operational costs by 40%. We are tracking and measuring how our data moves around our network and the associated cost and carbon.
Following a recent redesign project at all of our data centres, we have been able to get rid of more than 50% of our physical servers in our Bracknell data centre. This means our energy consumption has dropped from 150kw to less than 60kw, a reduction of 14% or 171tCO2e.
We have also replaced almost 500 desktop computers with Energy Star certified notebooks and monitors (all the old kit is treated in accordance with the WEEE directive and internal guidelines).
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Despite a new internal approval process, and as a result of our ongoing global expansion, our use of international flights has seen a 45% increase in associated carbon emissions to 2498tCO23. We are encouraging people to use the technology that is available to reduce the need for travel.
To improve energy efficiency at our print sites, we introduced a cross-skills training scheme that has benefits for both individuals and the business. We have also been testing the feasibility of capturing wasted heat from our compressors and we continue to monitor the entire printing process, to find ways in which we can use less energy.
We introduced new print software that allows us to use less ink while maintaining the quality of our image reproduction. But, despite that, our ink consumption went up by 3% or 28,000kg across all sites including our contract magazine publishers. This is due to the introduction of our newly monthly supplement, Do something , which was published for the first time last year.
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Overall, our London and Manchester print centres reduced carbon emissions by 6% and Polestar, our contract magazine printer, reduced theirs by 3%. That saved 436tCO2e in 2014/15.
Paper
Our paper consumption is responsible for our biggest impact on the environment. Over the last year, we reduced the amount of stock we buy from Canadian suppliers because of issues over quality and sustainability concerns raised by Greenpeace and Canopy . This was replaced with a UK recycled supply, which did increase our paper carbon footprint by 11% to 391kgCO2e per tonne of newsprint. But buying this stock also increased our recycled content to 87%, reducing our damage to ancient virgin forests. You can read about our latest paper policy here .
Guardian Members
The launch of Guardian Members in September 2014 means we are having a greater impact on our physical environment, as a result of the scheme’s busy events programme. Work is ongoing on The Midland Goods Shed , a new home and events space for Guardian Members, which is due to open in 2016.
The project team there is working to a set of sustainability goals that align with our values: they are focusing on the areas of community inclusion; wellbeing and health: energy and carbon: water; waste; sustainable materials and land use and nature.
Suppliers
Because we rely on suppliers and partners to do what we do, we don’t always have direct control over our impact on the environment and people. That means how we communicate and connect with each other is crucial. So, this year, we continued to work on developing our procurement values programme. We asked colleagues across departments and territories ‘what does it mean to supply to the Guardian?’. Their feedback has helped us to produce a draft Guardian Sourcing Values , document which is currently being tested and refined. Our hope is that it will reassure colleagues and readers that all our suppliers and service providers share our commitment to living our values.
We would love to hear you views and comments. What do you like, what would you change? You can leave your comments at the bottom of this article.
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Digital
Developing out in the open
Few media companies would have the courage or the desire to open up the development of their website to their readers and the wider world, but that’s just what Guardian News & Media (GNM) did, as it worked to update and re-launch theguardian.com throughout 2014 theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
Save for later
From the word go, users and readers were directly involved in the testing and development of the new version of theguardian.com that kicked off in 2014. The digital development team received thousands of comments and suggestions while work on the ‘beta’ version of the site was in progress, via our own blogs and sites as well the Nieman Labs site.
The roll out started in the US and Australia and was eventually launched in the UK early in 2015. The team collected more than 130,000 pieces of feedback in the first few days after it went live, via a blog and social media channels. The website is a work in progress and it continues to be developed ‘in the open’, with part of the site publicly available on the GitHub site.
This thirst for feedback and collaboration with users applies equally to other digital products such as apps and iPad editions. But it’s not all take – the digital teams share their knowledge and source coding with industry peers and the global tech community, via the likes of the Guardian’s Next Gen Blog and GitHub and as well as the developer site , which contains information on the department, projects and information about advertised job opportunities in GNM.
Diversity
A lack of diversity in the media and technology companies is acknowledged as being a major barrier to growth and innovation. In 2014, members of Guardian News & Media’s (GNM) digital team took part in a survey on diversity. The findings showed that 18% of the digital team are women, which is higher than many respondents estimated. Just 12% of technical roles are filled by women but 37% of senior management are female. Overall, when compared to other media and technology companies, we are near the bottom of the list when it comes to have a diverse workforce in our digital teams.
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In November 2014, the Guardian hosted a panel discussion on the topic of diversity. The aim was to build understanding and generate debate about the value of diversity in the media sector. The agenda included recruitment, editorial content, commercial viability, and digital development. The idea was to encourage the audience (Guardian staff) to think about why diversity matters and how it relates to their work. The digital team supported and promoted the event and were instrumental in securing one of the panel members, Erika Owens, who is program manager at Knight-Mozilla OpenNews . Her organization runs fellowships that bring digital experts together with journalists in their newsrooms for periods of up to 10 months, to tackle the challenges facing news organisations with creative problem-solving using code.
Digital team members are also involved in voluntary work that helps to promote coding and digital skills. They’ve hosted an event for Girls in Tech at which chief digital officer Tanya Cordrey spoke. And they regularly volunteer to teach coding and other digital skills, particularly to encourage and increase the number of people from diverse backgrounds who get involved. This volunteering includes organising sessions for The Hour of Code , a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries, and Code Club , a nationwide network of volunteer-led after school coding clubs for children aged 9 to 11 living in the UK.
Climate responsibility
In recent years we have been assessing how the digital consumption of our content affects the environment as a result of the energy consumed while people read articles and watch our videos on our site. In the year 2014/15, the overall carbon footprint of the digital operations was 5,986 tCO2e, 9% higher than last year.
Carbon emissions have been increasing as demand for our online services grows (page views were up by almost a billion on 2013/14). The big increase in the amount of time spent watching videos has quadrupled the carbon footprint of the mobile network over the year. But our new-look site has supported the ongoing shift from desktop and laptops to smartphones and tablets, which have a significantly lower carbon footprint. So, overall, our digital carbon efficiency has increased by 2% and you now only consume 0.076gCO2e reading a single article on the Guardian.
We are continuing to analyse energy consumption in our data centres to improve efficiently and we are also using cloud service providers to improve efficiency and scalability to serve the content. We are working on getting better carbon data from these providers.
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Commercial
At the heart of what we do
Our readers are at the centre of everything we do, from the content we produce and the advertising we carry to how we conduct ourselves in the commercial side of the business theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
Our most important relationship is the one we have with our readers; what they think about what we do, and how we do it, really matters. This year, via regular polls and surveys, and the launch of Guardian Crowd , a panel of more than 4,000 readers, our readers have been able to share their thoughts and ideas about everything from the topics we cover to the advertising we carry.
With the help of our Audience team, we have also revamped our readers’ survey. This annual exercise captures how we are perceived as a brand, as measured against our values, practices and behaviours. The survey’s findings help us to make sure we are living up to our readers’ expectations of how we conduct ourselves. You can read this year’s survey here .
Integrity
‘Cleanness’ or integrity is one of the Scott Trust values. As reported last year, as part of our commitment to living that value, we set up the Editorial Partnership Group. This group meets weekly to make sure that any proposed sponsored or commercial editorial content on theguardian.com doesn’t clash with our core values. Guardian journalists are unable to contribute to advertisement features, which distinguishes us from other news organisations.
In the 2014 report, we also mentioned that we were working on a labelling system that would help to distinguish straightforward reporting from sponsored or commercial content. This system has now been introduced and labelling is prominently displayed on all commercial or sponsored editorial content, alongside a link to our website which explains the labelling that lets people know who has editorial control. Labelling guidelines have been provided to all staff working in the UK, US and Australia. There are also sponsored content guidelines that are available for anyone to read.
Some of the social and environmental justice campaigns that formed part of sponsored content that was approved included a roundtable or Palm Oil Debate; DNV GL’s Rethinking prosperity hub which challenges conventional economic models; and many sites dedicated to charities campaigns. The Live Better campaign, which we reported on last year, exceeded all
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expectations in terms of page views. And we also sponsored a supplement about celebrating diversity in the workplace and reported on the Guardian Big Energy Debate.
Low impact
As a digital first company, one of our ambitions is to make our business processes as smooth and as paper-free as possible, all of which helps to reduce our carbon impact. For example, in our Guardian Masterclass teams, guest lists, course materials and information folders are in digital form wherever possible and name badges and signage are recycled.
Our Events team use ethically sourced food and digital branding where possible. One of their flagship events, the Guardian Sustainable Business Awards, will be held at The Crystal on Royal Victoria Docks, which runs on solar power and ground source heat pumps that generate energy. Everything at the ceremony, from the trophies to the food and set design, will be sustainable. At the Observer Food Monthly Awards in October 2015, the food will include only the freshest seasonal ingredients sourced from local suppliers. All the plants they use are seasonally grown in the UK (over 95% are sourced from local nurseries).
Partners
We try to make sure that the partners we work with share our values and our approach to the environment. To this end, we now include a climate responsibility question in all tender processes and applicants are scored on responses. We are also working on a project that will reduce paperwork and streamline and improve our readers’ experience when they interact with us to take out a subscription, buy a book from the Guardian Bookshop or take advantage of any of our commercial services.
Data
Along with many other commercial digital businesses, we use information about our readers to make our products and services more relevant to them. With the consent of our readers, we also use the data to make money from advertising that is then reinvested in the Guardian and its award-winning journalism.
In November 2014, to reassure people that their personal information is safe with us, we produced a video entitled ‘ Why your data matters to us ’. It explained in more detail how and why we use the data we collect about them and it sets out clearly how they can stay in control of that data. We also emailed readers, who agreed to be contacted, setting out the same message. The topic was also covered in this article on the Inside the Guardian blog.
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People
Nurturing talent from top to bottom
From their very first day in the organisation, people working at GNM can access training that helps them to capitalise on their skills and develop their career, while contributing to the success of the organisation theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
The role of The Scott Trust is ‘to secure and preserve the financial position and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity’. But no organisation can flourish ‘in perpetuity’ without the right people. Over the last year, Guardian News & Media (GNM) ran three initiatives designed to attract and nurture talented people from a wide range of backgrounds, some of whom may play an important part in the future of the Guardian: The Apprentice Programme , Digital Journalism Scheme and Graduate Programme .
The Apprentice Programme saw 10 apprentices, aged between 17 and 19, allocated to a variety of areas in our Marketing, Commercial and Human Resources departments. They spent 12 months, from March 2014 to March 2015, gaining workplace experience, acquiring new skills and working towards a vocational qualification at the end of the year. All 10 graduated at a ceremony attended by the editor-in-chief and chief executive .
A group of 10 Digital Journalism trainees joined the Editorial team and worked across a number of areas including social media, digital production and data and graphics. After the year was up, four of the trainees were invited to stay on for another year. Our Graduate Programme runs for 18 months and, at the moment, 12 graduates are working in roles across several departments.
Leadership
Organisations need strong and effective leadership if they are to be successful. One of our priorities in 2014/2015 was the development of leadership capabilities across GNM. With consultants Wavelength Connect, we set up a programme that brought leaders together from different parts of the business. In the normal course of events, these people wouldn’t meet but the programme and its workshops gave them the chance to share ideas and bring different perspectives to each other’s roles and responsibilities. The aim was to challenge, inspire and provoke leaders into fresh ways of thinking. Topics covered included how to inspire and motivate high performing teams, innovation and personal resilience.
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People Management
Our management development programme, which was set up last year, continues to go from strength to strength. Almost 250 people in management roles in editorial, commercial and operational areas of the business completed the programme in 2014/2015, and the feedback continues to be excellent. This programme combines a series of workshops with one-to-one coaching and helps managers to hone the skills and behaviours they need to be great people managers.
Learning
Last year 750 people, a significant percentage of our workforce, took advantage of our core skills training programme. The programme included workshops that ranged from presentation skills and project management to personal impact and time management. Another 100 people received digital skills training and this programme will continue running during 2015/2016.
Diversity and inclusion
As part of our ambition to make our reporting and coverage as wide-ranging and representative as possible, we ran three citizen reporting projects in South Africa , India and Brazil . They helped to unearth stories from marginalised communities, which were shared with the rest of the world. We also ran diverse voices seminars in the UK and USA. In the UK, we organised a number of unconscious bias workshops where we trained 40 recruitment managers. The aim was to make sure that our recruitment processes remain open, fair, and value diversity. Since then, we’ve seen an improvement in our BME representation, which is now at 13.7%, and our gender representation, which stands at 46.81%.
Through our diversity ambassador programme, we work with charities and organisations that reach out to diverse communities. We send them regular updates about the job opportunities at GNM. The organisations include the Race Equality Foundation, Leonard Cheshire Disability, and Live Magazine.
Remuneration
Following the 2013 pay audit in 2013, we set up the GMG Remuneration Committee Information and Consultation Forum (RCICF). This Forum includes representatives from right across the workforce, who will now have a chance to join in discussions and have their say about changes to executive pay. Through this Forum, and formal meeting with unions,
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we continue to seek the views of a diverse range of colleagues on our approach to remuneration.
Engagement
Every year, we ask our staff how they feel about working for Guardian News & Media (GNM). ORC International, independent employee engagement specialists, run the survey for us. More than 1400 staff took part in the latest one in April 2015, which represents a response rate of 78%. This has increased year on year, for the past four years. This year, we introduced some new questions to explore in more detail the topics of line management, collaboration, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability initiatives.
At GNM, we define an engaged employee as someone who ‘says, stays and strives’, something we measure by including three specific questions in our annual survey. In the year to 31 March 2015, we achieved an employee engagement score of 60%, up from 56% in 2014, 53% in 2013 and 51% in 2012.
Our top scoring areas for staff related to understanding how their work contributes to the success of their team and the organisation (90% and 86% respectively). Staff are clear about what they are expected to achieve in their jobs (83%) and positive about how their team collaborates to deliver our goals effectively (79%). There is still a very strong culture of fairness and respect at GNM and staff feel more informed about matters affecting them at a team level. They also feel they have more opportunities to increase their skills.
Collaboration between departments is still a frustration for many and scores around understanding of the strategy, confidence in the senior management team and their vision
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for the future have remained the same.
As in previous years, each department’s survey results are shared with its directors who use the information to draw up action plans. GNM’s senior team review these plans regularly, to check that we are making progress.
The view from the NUJ
Living our Values 2015: The view from the NUJ
Unions play a crucial, and in some ways unusual, role at the Guardian and Observer. That’s especially true of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), which represents around 95% of the journalists. Here, Seumas Milne, chair of the Guardian and Observer NUJ chapel, looks at how the relationship with GNM management has fared over the last 12 months
theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
The NUJ “chapel”, or workplace branch, at Guardian News & Media (GNM) not only negotiates the pay, terms and conditions of all those working on the editorial floors. It is also the collective democratic voice of the journalists on everything from threats to media freedom to how the company is run.
In an organization without shareholders, the journalists and wider workforce are – along with our readers – its most important stakeholders. As their representative, the chapel seeks to hold the company’s management to account, along with the trust that owns the Guardian and Observer. We have also tried to democratise these structures and make them more transparent. That’s still definitely work in progress.
But it’s also what lies behind the success of the ballot for the Guardian’s new editor-in-chief, which was held in March 2015 and delivered a landslide vote for Kath Viner. That editorial staff endorsement was then backed a fortnight later by the trust, which appointed her as editor to replace Alan Rusbridger.
Ballots
The indicative ballot was organized by the NUJ, as were the hustings with four candidates, held in February at the Guardian and Observer headquarters in King’s Cross and attended by around 500 people. Each candidate produced a written statement and answered exhaustive questions, both from the floor and submitted in advance.
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But voting wasn’t restricted to union members. And all those who earn more than half their income from editorial work for the Guardian or Observer were able to take part. In the event, Kath Viner won an outright majority of first preference votes - 53% of those voting (438 out of 830 on an 87% turnout).
An ‘indicative’ ballot for the editor (the legal power of appointment remains with the trust) was first held in 1995 at the initiative of the Guardian NUJ chapel. It was resisted by the trust at the time. But when journalists voted strongly for Rusbridger - who was then appointed - it set a powerful precedent and laid the basis for longer-term reform. As Rusbridger said at the time, having the democratically expressed backing of the journalists gave him a unique springboard as editor and he could not imagine a future Guardian editor being chosen without the support of a staff ballot.
Shortlist
This year, the trust accepted that whoever won the ballot would at least be guaranteed a place on the final shortlist. In practice, a decisive majority for any candidate from the people who produce the Guardian and Observer creates a compelling momentum for appointment. The only exception might be if an outstanding external candidate was unable to take part in what is a semi-public ballot - but the election of staff representatives to the trust’s appointment committee (as in 1995) might help square that circle in future. What is clear is that the staff ballot is now firmly cemented at the heart of the process.
A similar story of the NUJ creating democratic facts on the ground led to the election of the journalists’ member of the trust (other members are chosen by the trust itself). That first happened in 2001, when the trust reluctantly accepted the journalists’ choice of Larry Elliott - and then in 2011 when the editorial staff elected Heather Stewart with trust support.
We need to go further with democratisation of the trust and reform of the governance of the organisation. There’s a strong case for non-editorial staff to elect a trust member and for a mechanism of accountability to our readers (as well as to “perpetuity”, to which the trust says it holds itself responsible).
Decisions
There have also been questionable trust decisions in recent years which demanded greater independent scrutiny from those whose livelihoods depends on the organisation’s success. Among others, the company has continued to agree lavish boardroom pay and bonus packages while employees’ pay has been cut in real terms. The NUJ is pressing for elected
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staff representation on the company’s remuneration committee which signs off this excess, as well as a reduction in the gap between the lowest and highest salaries.
But what has already been achieved in terms of a direct staff say in the choice of editor and the ownership structure unquestionably sets Guardian News & Media apart - not only from other media organisations, but the vast majority of other employers. In an organisation which isn’t run for profit in particular, direct employee participation clearly works. Every one of these advances has been secured by NUJ members - and we’ll be working to expand them in the years to come.
•Seumas Milne is chair, Guardian and Observer NUJ chapel .
Community
Small is beautiful when it comes to our community relationships
The Guardian’s community programme may be small in scale but it makes a big impact when it comes to supporting local charities and organizations over the long term theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
We work with local charities and organizations because we want to play an active role in our neighbourhood. The charities, groups and schools we team up with reflect a broad range of local needs and concerns. And because of the nature of our business, we also work with organisations that are involved in media education.
We have 10 community partners and, last year, delivered more than 40 projects with 400+ volunteers contributing 4000+ hours. The number of volunteers and hours has increased over the past three years but, because staff numbers have grown, the overall percentage is the same as last year with 25.5% of staff volunteering during 2014/15.
We support our community partners through joint projects, sharing ideas, resources and staff volunteering. Our aim is to build trust and long-term relationships – we have worked with some of our partners for almost 15 years. But the Guardian also has national and international reach with its campaigning work and highlighting issues and fundraising such as the Christmas appeal or work of the Guardian foundation, which supports liberal journalism across the world.
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Our projects with local partners are individually tailored and developed as needs change over time. Occasionally, we respond to ad hoc requests, such as help with finding space to host an event. We can’t always oblige but our feedback surveys make it clear that our partners are very comfortable with asking for extra help when it is needed.
Working both ways
Our community programme pay dividends for GNM as well as partners. Volunteering helps members of staff to achieve individual goals and supports collaborative working, which is a key part of GNM’s business strategy. Here are some responses from our most recent survey of staff who volunteer:
Increased employee engagement and productivity:
“Volunteering is a vital part of making me more effective as a member of the GNM workforce. That precious 45 minutes once a week where I get out of the office and immerse myself in a completely different world makes me return refreshed and renewed every time to my paid-for duties. Everyone should do it!”
Pride in the business:
“I love volunteering, it makes me feel like the company cares about the local area, and I feel very proud to work here.”
Staff well-being:
“I love my volunteering - I really look forward to it each week and it gives me a real sense of well-being. I would highly recommend it.”
Volunteering has:
•has helped me connect with new colleagues - 100%
• increased my job satisfaction - 80%
•increased my pride in GNM – 92%
• increased my sense of happiness & wellbeing - 100%
•has helped me learn new skills – 88%
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You can read more about our main projects and partners for 2014/15 here .
Volunteering week 2014
Volunteering week 2014: A week to remember
Guardian volunteering week 2014 was our most successful todate. Read on to find out why theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
Guardian Volunteering week is made up of a series of one-day projects, when we work with charities, schools and community organizations. Staff can volunteer to work with our regular community partners as well as a wider network of organizations. The projects take place in London, Manchester and in 2014, for the first time, New York.
Supporting our partners and the business
The projects are chosen by our community partners and developed in collaboration with the Guardian’s Volunteering week team. The perfect project is one that matches our partners’ needs with the skills available at Guardian News & Media (GNM) and what Guardian staff want to do - and something that can be achieved in one day.
Once the projects are agreed, a brief is handed over to the volunteer project manager (PM). The PM is a member of staff who takes on the responsibility of making sure the project happens. Responsibilities include everything from developing the idea and briefing volunteers to ordering lunch for everyone.
All PMs are paired with a sponsor; this is a senior member of staff who can help with accessing support and networking as well as, in some instances, being a mentor. Each project is then allocated the required number of volunteers before the week gets underway, usually in the first half of June.
In 2014, 280 people took part in 18 projects across London, Manchester and New York ; 12 community organisations benefitted from GNM’s skills and resources. You can read more about all the Volunteering Week 2014 projects here .
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Objectives
Every volunteering week has clear objectives: for Community partners they include accessing and benefitting skills and resources available at GNM. For GNM, the aim is to increase engagement in volunteering and pride in GNM and improve networking and collaboration. But it’s also important to create projects that are fun, meaningful and make an impact.
Aside from those objectives, we also want projects to strengthen relationships between staff and our community partners and provide organizations and charities with lasting benefits. Once the week is over, we ask our volunteers and community partners for their feedback to see if we’ve all achieved our objectives. This is what they told us in 2014:
Engagement: did taking part affect volunteers’ views of GNM?
“I thought the day was brilliant. A hugely successful outcome - or at least I thought so. The volunteers got to know each other better, we got to chat to the surrounding community, all the while making some much needed improvements to the estate. I was proud to represent the Guardian and would happily do this again... and more often if the opportunity does arise in the future.”
Collaboration : did the week help with networking and collaboration and raise awareness of skills amongst colleagues?
“I really look forward to volunteering week. It’s an excellent opportunity to meet staff you wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to meet, but it’s also fun to get out and work with staff you do know in a different environment. One example of how useful volunteering week was for me personally: I had exchanged emails with a member of staff in the Technology department and was working with them on the project day, but had no idea who they were. After 20 minutes of shovelling, we introduced ourselves and realised we had been exchanging emails over the last few days. It was nice to meet someone in person as well as via email!”
Being a project manager helped me connect with colleagues from across GNM:
100% agree/strongly agree
Volunteering helped me connect with new colleagues from across GNM:
86% agree/strongly agree
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Being a project manager improved my leadership skills
91% agree/strongly agree
Being a project manager improved my ability to maximise the performance of others
81% agree/strongly agree
Being a project manager improved management skills
77% agree/strongly agree
Fun and rewarding : did staff have a good time and feel they were involved in meaningful projects?
Following feedback from previous years, we tried to make sure that the projects called for a variety of skills and that there was plenty for staff to be involved with, even if they wanted to do something completely different from their day job.
“I loved the whole experience and hope to be able to go back soon.”
“A very rewarding day.”
“A fantastic opportunity.”
“Very well run, helped a lot of people.”
Community impact: Did the projects support our partners ?
“It was magical, I do not know how else to describe the day. Also, we were particularly happy with the team work required to plan the event... the determination of all the volunteers that this day was going to be the best day at Great Croft, and it really was!”
“The enthusiasm of the volunteers was incredible. The wisdom, experience and overview they were able to offer was a real strength of the project.”
“Raised self-esteem and self-worth, due to the volunteers’ happy, outgoing nature and the kindness they showered on our members. Their happiness and fun was infectious, for our members, staff and other volunteers. It improved the emotional and well-being of our members.”
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“Mentoring, inspiring young people, an insight into the world of work, skills in presentation and event planning.”
“It was all brilliant! Well done to everyone at the Guardian.”
What we learnt
Projects need to have practical elements : Projects for partners need to have some practical element, especially if they are workshops for young people. The iPhone filming workshop that was part of the Cutting East and Live workshop was an enormous success but, afterwards, we realized that it involved too much sitting and listening and not enough doing.
More work needs to be done in the initial planning stage: “I think project managers could be recruited further in advance of volunteering. This would give us much more time to plan the day. It’s quite full on planning the day in a short space of time while doing your day job and I think having more time would certainly alleviate the stress.” Project manager
Volunteers are very happy with the support provided by the organisers of Volunteering week: “I was very happy with the support given by Jan Stevens. Being project manager for the first time did scare me a little bit, but through her positive attitude and the fact she had a lot of confidence in me really helped towards the preparation of the day, as well as the day itself. She is absolutely brilliant and deserves heaps of praise for all the hard work she has put into volunteering week! Other than that, I have no complaints. No improvements needed to be made. It was a brilliant day.”
Guardian Education Eentre
Marking a milestone
In September 2014, Guardian News & Media’s award-winning Education Centre had much to celebrate, when it notched up its 100,000 th visitor theguardian.com Tuesday 22 September 2015
The Education Centre is managed by Guardian News & Media (GNM) on behalf of the Guardian Foundation. From a classroom at GNM’s London offices, the small team runs a range of workshops, activities and events to enable pupils , teachers ,university students , adult learners and families to interact with the news and to get a realistic understanding of what it is like to work for a news organisation.
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Celebrating success
In September 2014, the Centre welcomed what was its 100,000th visitor since it opened in May 2002. To the nearest thousand, those 12 years add up to:
3500+ sessions
65,000 children and students under 18
18,000 students aged 18-25
10,000 teachers, lecturers, teaching assistants
5,000 adult learners
2,000 parents Guardian (at Family Days)
To celebrate, the Centre hosted two special workshops with schools that have visited on a regular basis: students from Monkfrith School took part in a primary newspaper workshop with feedback from editorial staff. Meanwhile, Year 9 media studies students from from Ellen Wilkinson School attended a Women in Media workshop, interviewing eight female journalists, editors and staff. There was also a celebration to thank all staff volunteers from
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the editorial, IT and commercial departments who support the Centre’s workshops and events.
“The workshop was taught with fabulous enthusiasm and encouragement, an absolutely wonderful and inspiring day.” - Katrina Donaghy, Monkfrith Primary School
Expanding reach
The schools programme continues to be heavily oversubscribed; bookings are made an academic year in advance and there are 450 schools on the waiting list. This year, schools came from as far as Yorkshire, Cheshire, Cumbria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and the UAE to take part.
“Excellent delivery with good pace - the students thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. They had very positive experiences of being in a journalist’s shoes for the day. It has been a really interesting and fulfilling day.” - Louise Brooke, College Alpin Beau Soleil, Switzerland
University and higher education groups visited from the USA and the Netherlands, as well as the UK.
“Another memorable session at the Guardian. You were terrific and Ewen MacAskill was, well, riveting. The students were in awe. Education at its best.” - Jeffrey Kofman, Indiana University School of Journalism
In 2014/15, the Centre ran 256 sessions for 7292 visitors. That figure includes::
5078 Children and students under 18
964 Students aged between 18 and 25
204 Parents and guardians
964 Teachers
217 Adult learners
102 Volunteering staff
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Responding to change
In response to editorial and digital development at the Guardian, along with curriculum changes, the team introduced two new workshops: a first world war workshop for secondary schools was first delivered in November and has been very well received.
“Thank you for a brilliant [first world war] workshop today. The students thoroughly enjoyed it and were very proud of their efforts. They made lots of lovely comments about their experience on the way home, with some asking questions about journalism and related jobs. I felt it really widened their horizons and gave them some confidence.” - Sarah Benson , Blenheim High School, Surrey
The second new workshop, developed with the Guardian Digital Development team, concentrated on coding and journalism . Workshops were piloted in January and March with pre-selected schools and they received excellent feedback:
“An excellent, well-structured and supported workshop. It was great to be able to show them how coding skills are applied in the real world.” - Claire Bannister, The Chafford School Essex
The Centre also support professional development for teachers through its popular Reading for pleasure conference and I nsight into Journalism series.
“It was a brilliant day. I got such a lot from the conference and the different sessions were incredibly motivating; to know there is so much enthusiasm, creativity and energy in library and literary professionals up and down the country, all striving to engender a love of reading and learning in the younger generation and all so generous in sharing ideas and resources.” - Lesley Spurrell, Shenley Brook End School, Milton Keynes
Extending partnerships
The Centre works with internal departments and external media and cultural partners. They include Kings Place Music Foundation , the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment , the British Library and Channel 4 . There are also sessions for Guardian community partners and the Centre is very involved in GNM’s annual Volunteering Week .
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Staff involvement
Over the years, more than 100 members of GNM’s staff have got involved in projects and activities at the Education Centre. Here is some feedback from them and some visitors to the Centre:
“This was an excellent day. Everyone we saw was helpful and interesting and keen to interact with us. I cannot praise the Education Centre team enough for all the interaction I have had with you, not just this seminar.” - Elisabeth Murphy, Heathside School, Surrey.
“The main reason I’m always happy to talk to the students that come into the Education Centre is one of aesthetic I want people to know that journalists come in all colours and with different life experiences. Seeing that might just inspire the person sat at the back who’s paying no attention because they’ve worked out they have no chance of going to Oxbridge.” - Eliza Anyangwe, journalist
“It’s always an absolute pleasure to speak to visiting school groups in the Education Centre. It’s a chance to speak to the next generation of readers and to find out about their news interests and beyond. It’s something that adds a lot of value to my role. The Education Centre is a wonderful thing, and I’m proud to be a part of the work it does.” - Emily Drabble, editor, Guardian children’s books site
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