The Changes We Face

Introduction The changes we face We encourage our writers to use the word strongly supported across the business as a whole. “unprecedented” sparingly because it can so easily However, as this change represents the most signifi- be devalued. But we feel it is an appropriate cant editorial development of the past 30 years, the description of the past year in the life of Guardian Guardian editor’s strong preference for the mid-size Newspapers Limited (GNL) and the media industry was a critical element in the final decision. in general. Alongside the format change there will also be a We were faced with two major events: the close examination of the paper’s journalism, with the decision by two of our competitors to change to a purpose of reinforcing and expressing more clearly tabloid format; and the repercussions of the Hutton and reliably the mission of the Scott Trust to publish report, which investigated a BBC journalist’s claim quality newspapers, free from party affiliation, that the government had sexed up its dossier on Iraq remaining faithful to liberal tradition. before the war. This examination has been spurred on by contro- In our response to both situations, the core values versy on both sides of the Atlantic. The Hutton that were embedded in our organisation many report and the Mirror’s use of fake pictures of British decades ago have shown themselves to be troops abusing Iraqi prisoners has caused soul enduring and crucial, not only to our editorial searching about journalistic standards in this credibility, but also to our commercial success. country. In the US, the story has been similar. The The process by which we agreed to change within respected New York Times was engulfed by two the next two years from a broadsheet to a mid-size scandals: the Jayson Blair case, in which a junior “European” format, the most significant change reporter plagiarised and fabricated dozens of since the Guardian moved to London in the 1960s, is stories; and the publication of a 1,200-word note in a testament to the strength and effectiveness of our which the editors admitted the paper’s coverage of ownership structure. the prelude to the Iraq war had not been as Because we are owned by the Scott Trust we were “rigorous” as it should have been. able to take the long-term view on format and to Like other institutions before it, the “fourth estate” make a decision that was entirely right for the is under attack and facing pressure to change. Guardian and the Observer. Politicians, City fund managers, pressure groups, as The editorial and commercial departments well as some journalists, are starting to question worked together throughout the planning process media groups about how they are living up to their and the decision in favour of the mid-size was corporate social responsibilities. The Guardian’s 4Living our values ‘Honesty, cleanness, courage, fairness, a sense of duty to the reader and the community’ CP Scott on the values of the Manchester Guardian, May 5 1921 senior leader writer, Martin Kettle, crystallised the the backbone of everything we do. These values are importance of this debate when he wrote: “What do not there to inform our journalism alone but also all we really mean by freedom of the press? That any- our business practices. There is nothing that rankles one can say anything about anyone, however more than exhorting our readers to take one course untrue? Or that a society needs trustworthy and reli- of action if we, as a company, are doing something able information in order to make its decisions? completely different. Surely we deserve something better than what This is why this audit measures our impacts on all we’ve got.” our stakeholders — employees, readers, customers, It is at this crossroads that GNL publishes its suppliers — as well as the environment, against our second social, ethical and environmental audit. At values. By having the report independently audited a time when readers are being overwhelmed by a we are ensuring it is a fair and balanced reflection torrent of real-time information, it has become of where we stand (see auditor’s statement on increasingly important that our publications page 56). maintain and improve their reputation as trusted We started our social auditing journey last year. navigators. If quality journalism is to survive and We wanted our first report to act as an agent for prosper, then above all we must maintain our change and in this it has succeeded. Where we credibility. found gaps between our values and our actions, we It is equally vital that our founding values, created set ourselves targets for improvement. Many of in the furnace of the political reform movement 183 these we achieved ahead of schedule but there is years ago, are reinvigorated and breathe their fiery still a way to go with others. A summary of our spirit throughout our organisation. progress can be seen on page 54, alongside our CP Scott, the Manchester Guardian’s editor for new targets for 2004-05. nearly 57 years, was the first to hone down these val- The scale of change we are facing in the next two ues to the core essence in his leading article cele- years is momentous but through this period we will brating the paper’s centenary on May 5 1921: seek to ensure that our values remain at the “Honesty, cleanness [integrity], courage, fairness, a forefront of both our hearts and minds. sense of duty to the reader and the community.” These are extremely demanding, especially in the Carolyn McCall, chief executive context of the daily pressure to bring out the papers Alan Rusbridger, Guardian editor and constantly update the websites, but must form Roger Alton, Observer editor Living our values 5 The Scott Trust Free thinkers Most newspapers are better at giving advice or important decision making. than taking it. We owe a good deal of our living For instance, as the Guardian began to to shedding light on the failings of others and consider whether a change from the broadsheet urging governments, organisations and format would be right for its readers, the editor individuals to be better. We see it as our duty in took the trust through his thinking in detail, a healthy democracy. and was later joined by the chief executive But who guards the guards? There is a prac- laying out the business aspects of every option. tical — though not very glorious — tradition The trust’s position was to say from the outset that dog doesn’t eat dog and newspapers don’t that, whatever the outcome, the primary driver seriously dish it to each other. The tradition of the decision should be editorial rather than breaks down every so often, to the general financial considerations. Ultimately, of course, entertainment of the population, but for the the business case had to be made but the order most part the press knows it never has much to of events was not the one most newspaper fear from the searchlight of publicity being groups would expect to follow. turned on its own internal workings. Only under the most extreme of circum- Seven years ago the Guardian broke a lance stances, if the trust were to reach the view that for editorial accountability by appointing the editor’s proposed course of action would be Britain’s first readers’ editor to deal with seriously damaging to the paper or financially complaints about the content of the paper. He unsustainable by GMG, would the trust have is independent, uneditable and free to assign contemplated challenging GNL’s properly blame, extract apology or just delve publicly made case, backed by the group. In the event it into the finer points of an oversimplified offered solid support from a basis of complete argument. The Observer followed suit, as did knowledge and understanding. the Independent on Sunday. TURNER GRAHAM Having the trust as sole shareholder means But the newspapers and websites of GNL, Liz Forgan, who chairs the Scott Trust. She was that, for GMG, shareholder value resides in the like all the businesses of the Guardian Media appointed by the trustees on the death last quality, courage, and integrity of the news- Group, have a wider duty, too, which derives September of Hugo Young. Opposite page: a papers at least as much as in the bottom line. It bust of CP Scott in front of bound copies of the from the terms of their ownership by the Scott Manchester Guardian removes the need always to maximise profits Trust. and so allows us to take the long view when The trust is the owner of the Guardian Media It must hold the businesses — including the times get tough, to run commercial risks when Group and therefore also the proprietor of its newspapers — accountable but it must do so at there is a clear editorial justification and to go publications. Unlike a commercial shareholder, a broad strategic level, never interfering in the about our business without being prey to the it exists primarily to protect the independence day-to-day management. It has neither the extreme and immediate pressures of cut-throat and integrity of the journalism — initially that right nor the competence to usurp the group commercial competition. of the Guardian and the Manchester Evening board’s responsibilities but it must keep a clear With that freedom, however, goes a list of News, subsequently extended to the Observer eye on the big strategic moves on which it will values originally considered essential to the and Guardian Unlimited.

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