The History of the UK Guardian - good read

[malaise]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gnm-archive/2002/jun/06/1
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The Manchester Guardian was founded by John Edward Taylor in 1821, and was first published on May 5 of that year. The paper's intention was the promotion of the liberal interest in the aftermath of the Peterloo Massacre and the growing campaign to repeal the Corn Laws that flourished in Manchester during this period. The Guardian was published weekly until 1836 when it was published on Wednesday and Saturday becoming a daily in 1855, when the abolition of Stamp Duty on newspapers permitted a subsequent reduction in cover price (to 2d) allowed the paper to be published daily.

The Guardian achieved national and international recognition under the editorship of CP Scott, who held the post for 57 years from 1872. Scott bought the paper in 1907 following the death of Taylor's son, and pledged that the principles laid down in the founder's will would be upheld by retaining the independence of the newspaper. CP Scott outlined those principals in a much-quoted article written to celebrate the centenary of the paper: "Comment is free, but facts are sacred... The voice of opponents no less than that of friends has a right to be heard."

In June 1936, JR Scott formally passed ownership of the paper to the trustees of the Scott Trust. As well as pledging to ensure the radical editorial tradition of the paper (that the newspaper "shall be conducted in the future on the same lines and in the same spirit as heretofore", in the words of the founder's legacy), the Scott Trust also has the duty to maintain a secure financial footing for the business: "...to devote the whole of the surplus profits of the Company which would otherwise have been available for dividends...towards building up the reserves of the Company and increasing the circulation of and expanding and improving the newspapers." These principles remain the only instructions given to an incoming editor of the Guardian, though the Scott family retained an interest in the running of the company until 1984, when, aged 70, Richard F Scott retired from the chairmanship of the Trust.

The Guardian was at the forefront of the sleaze revelations that contributed to the downfall of the Conservative government in 1997, with a series of investigations into the affairs of Tory MPs, including Jonathan Aitken and Neil Hamilton.

This reputation was cemented by the collapse of the libel case brought against the paper by former Minister Jonathan Aitken. Aitken was convicted of perjury and jailed in June 1999, and the investigations won the Guardian critical acclaim from all sides - including the prestigious Newspaper of the Year Award in both 1997 and 1998.
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Young Murdoch should follow Aitken to prison and the Guardian will once again win Newspaper of the Year Award. :D