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back to article Wheezing Guardian flogs radio biz for quick cash

The Guardian newspaper may not actually be published on paper for very much longer – but the sale of the parent group's radio stations to Global Radio may buy it a little more time. The UK's largest commercial radio company, Global Radio, yesterday acquired GMG Radio – which runs the Smooth Radio and Real Radio stations – for …

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  1. Colin Millar

    Well it hasn't been well for a long time

    Finding a news story (as opposed to one of those annoying live blogs, agenda pushing commentaries or lifestyle pieces) is getting almost impossible on their web publication and the paper seems barely able to sustain more than one major story at a time.

    In the meantime we have the same tired old hacks with their obviously personal agendas (Polly Toynbee ad nauseam), lazy new hacks jumping on ephemeral 2.0 bandwagons (Jemima Kiss and almost anyone else on ther tech team except Jack), and mashup artists pretending that spreadsheet juggling is news.

    As for their economics analysis over the last few years - for a paper that built its reputation on a deep understanding of these matters its performance has been non-existent. They buy into nonsense concepts like firewalls and contagion and spend all their time celebrity politician watching.

    Still - I suppose that the Guardian's old style was always going to be hit hardest by tah innerwebs as it required a degree of concentration and a willingness to try to understand stuff.

    Where's the grumpy old man icon?

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    1. Blitterbug
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      Happy

      Re: Well it hasn't been well for a long time

      I upvoted you despite disagreeing with nearly all that you said, because it was very elegantly put and you did admit to being grumpy.

      I think it'd be a sadder newsspace without Polly et al, and I do have to take issue with the 'lack of good stories' meme going on in this commentary thread; Phone hacking (yes, has gone on for a looong time, but thank christ for that - the wiggle room is getting smaller for the slimy gits as a result of the inexorable pressure applied by keeping the story in the current news cycle).

      Also their many excellent FoI battles of the past year or two, fought tooth-and-nail by teh evil gov'mint, have made it a compelling read for me at least. Only problem I have is the hideously green-flavoured agenda, as in 'oh noes not more nuke power stations'.

      Personally I have always preferred it to the Independent cos of its constant anti-establishment hi-jinks, and I do worry about a world with no respectable-broadsheet campaigning muscle...

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      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Well it hasn't been well for a long time

        "I upvoted you despite disagreeing with nearly all that you said, because it was very elegantly put and you did admit to being grumpy."

        I upvoted you for upvoting someone for being grumpy.

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      2. Colin Millar
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        Happy

        Re: Well it hasn't been well for a long time

        And I upvoted you for being able to completely disagree with most of nearly all what I had to say and explain why in a coherent and reasoned way that actually has me reconsidering being so grumpy with the Graun instead of just calling me a f**ktard and entrenching me in my cynicism.

        Next week - the reg comment boards brings you world peace.

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    2. dotdavid
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      Coat

      Re: Well it hasn't been well for a long time

      "the Guardian's old style was always going to be hit hardest by tah innerwebs as it required a degree of concentration and a willingness to try to understand stuff."

      Was that due to the spelling errors?

      I jest, I jest...

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  2. LinkOfHyrule
    WTF?

    Admittedly I am no publishing expert but WTF? DUDE! I think they're doing it wrong!

    As for that hotel, it will be like Fawlty Towers but with lots of cardigans and iPads!

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    1. Tom 35
      Reply Icon

      And don't forget the

      WA RTY TOWELS

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You see, you see!!

    "The Guardian newspaper may not actually be published on paper for very much longer"

    "Guardian and Observer newspapers are on course to make a loss of around £45m this year"

    that's what happens when it's left to the market to decide! This must be someone else's fault (some black hearted corporate deceit or other such capitalist nastiness). What will dear Polly et al do now? We must blame someone wealthy - they are obviously immoral and probably uncultured! When they close up for good where will I get endorsement for my wobbly-chinned outrage? It's just not /fair/.

    Good riddance

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    1. Elmer Phud
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      Me Culpa

      It's all my fault - I use the online version.

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      1. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Me Culpa

        Many people use the online version while it is free.

        Will you and they still use it when it goes behind a paywall? At 10p a week? 10p a day? 10p an article?

        Editorially, they have lost the plot somewhat, but who else would have covered phone hacking, superinjunctions, etc. If the powers that be finally realised that the LibDums have had it, for the foreseeable future, the readership might actually increase a little bit.

        I'm not going near any paper that employs Aaronovitch.

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    2. JC_
      Reply Icon
      IT Angle

      Re: You see, you see!!

      If it was left to the market to decide then Jeremy Hunt would have signed off on his chum Murdoch buying the rest of Sky; clearly the market isn't always right.

      Compare the Guardian with Murdoch's papers (including the Times): one hacked into a dead child's phone and lied about it; the other investigated and reported it.

      So you find some of the Guardian's commentators a bit left-wing? No problem, that's where they are on the spectrum, just like millions of people and voters. Murdoch on the other hand really is black-hearted nastiness and it would be a sad day that there was no counter-point to him.

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      1. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        @JC_

        " it would be a sad day that there was no counter-point " this, I agree with if not the manner in which it is done (my hard luck, not obliged to read it etc etc)

        But

        "If it was left to the market to decide then Jeremy Hunt would have signed off on his chum Murdoch buying the rest of Sky; clearly the market isn't always right." This is incorrect: behind the scenes intervention to advance the interests of your cronies has nothing to do with the market. Think you might be drinking the Kool-Aid there

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        1. SiempreTuna
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          Unhappy

          Re: @JC_

          "behind the scenes intervention to advance the interests of your cronies has nothing to do with the market"

          You're quite right: to be absolutely precise, it's what the Tories and the Republicans call a "Free Market". Similarly, corporate financed lies and distortion are rightly (= per the right wing) called "Free Speech".

          Also, whereas should you or I to pay a politician to use their position our our advantage it's called a "Bribe", when a corporation does exactly the same thing, it's called a "Donation".

          There are very different rules for the rich. And politiciains. Who mostly end up rich. Coincidentally.

          Shame about the Grauniad. All the good guys are struggling - viz the Beed and the NYT - while the foam-mouthed loonies continue to go from strength to strength (well, maybe News International's suffering a slight dip at the minute). Guess it costs a lot less to just make your 'facts' up ..

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  4. El Presidente

    I Woner How Much Tax ..

    The Graun will *completely legally* avoid paying to HMRC on this deal ?

    http://tinyurl.com/cjzged2

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  5. pPPPP

    I actually bought the Guardian last Saturday

    They were giving away a copy of Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyache.

    The journalism really doesn't compare well with it's biggest rivals, the Independent and the i. There were a few articles worth reading though.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
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      Pint

      happy mondays

      now, that is a good album

      1 1
      1. Andrew Orlowski (Written by Reg staff)
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        Re: happy mondays

        It is, but Bummed is the best.

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  6. Neil Dawson

    Guardian Media Group is not just about newspapers

    It's not the newspaper that's selling a group of radio stations. GMG owns (or owned) the radio business and the newspaper as well as lots of other interests such as printing companies, property, magazine.

    Moaning about Polly Toynbee is like writing to BBC Good Food Magazine about the latest episode of Top Gear.

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    1. Colin Millar
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      Re: Guardian Media Group is not just about newspapers

      Except that without the Guardian the GMG is just another tax-avoiding corporate. The only possible point of general public interest in a GMG story is its effect on one of the most reputable and influential UK newspapers of all time.

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    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Guardian Media Group is not just about newspapers

      Regarding "like writing to BBC Good Food Magazine about the latest episode of Top Gear", try working for any bit of the beeb, and you get angry Daily Mail readers doing exactly that on a regular basis, sadly :)

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  7. ukgnome
    Happy

    I read online

    well actually I read the David Mitchell column and the Charlie Brooker column.

    ....ok I also read the apprentice live blog by Heidi Stephens as well.

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  8. The Axe
    FAIL

    Plagerism

    Well the Guardian is no longer a proper newspaper. It just nicks stories from elsewhere and pretends it's their own.

    Compare this piece from the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jun/25/how-natwest-it-meltdown) with this piece by Anna Leach (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/25/rbs_natwest_what_went_wrong/). Many of the Guardian's words seem very similar to that in the Register's article.

    H/t http://order-order.com/2012/06/26/plagiarism-watch-guardian-lifts-story-from-tech-site/

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  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    BBC Subsidy

    The BBC used to subsidise the GMG to the tune of £400-£500k a year by paying inflated prices for adverts.

    This stopped when the BBC came under financial pressure in 2009. Their spend in 2009 with GMG was about the same as with other media outlets.

    I don’t have the figures for 2010 and 2011 so I don’t know whether they have resumed the subsidy.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: BBC Subsidy

      Is there a source for that info, or are those figures your own original research?

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      1. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        Re: BBC Subsidy

        From BBC FOI responses

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        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: BBC Subsidy

          Can we have a link? If true that sounds really interesting (and newsworthy) but can't find any info on it anywhere.

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          1. Anonymous Coward
            Reply Icon
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: BBC Subsidy

            http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/foi/classes/disclosure_logs/rfi20110092_spend_on_recruitment_advertising.pdf

            1 4
            1. Anonymous Coward
              Reply Icon
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: BBC Subsidy

              Ah, I understand now. You meant that the BBC had spent different amounts of money advertising with different outlets. From your original post I thought you meant the BBC had deliberately paid over the odds for advertising in the Guardian for its own reasons (which woulds have been really interesting).

              Thanks for taking the trouble to post the link, much appreciated.

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  10. Jason Hindle

    They have a disjointed online strategy

    The Guardian website give 100% of their content for free while their excellent iOS newsstand app has a subscription and their iPhone app a far smaller subscription. As far as I can tell, they've no way of charging anything on their Android app (though they do display advertisements on it). I would gladly pay something for any of the broadsheets (except the Times, because it is tainted) if they a coherent charging strategy and a publishing strategy that makes the content available to me anywhere.

    Whatever they do though, the Guardian Group needs to take care. The second highest online readership is a lot of influence to peddle!

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  11. IHateWearingATie
    Thumb Down

    Shame...

    ... I like the Graun and happily pay for the iPhone app, which at £6 for the year seems stupidly underpriced. However, it is getting a little too one sided in it's commentary...

    P Toynebee has been getting too tribal Labour recently - has anyone else noticed every article seems to be saying that whatever the government have done this week is THE one that will make everyone realise the tories are really evil?

    Their economics leader writer, Aditya Chakrabortty, seems to be an unreconstructed Trotskyist who veers wildly between interesting articles (e.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/18/mervyn-king-save-british-economy) and ones that wouldn't be out of place in the Morning Star (e.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/28/give-these-overpaid-ceos-asbos) - incidentally, my Dad and brother were on the front page of the Morning Stara few weeks ago protesting at the Jubilee celebrations...

    And I mustn't forget George Monbiot, who seems to be trying to make up for supporting Nuclear Power by going further in the eco-warrior stakes than ever before.

    Still, The Graun is a refreshing change to the Daily Hate Mail and their ilk, so I'll keep buying as long as they keep publishing and its interesting.

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    1. edge_e
      Reply Icon

      Re: Shame...

      ... I like the Graun and happily pay for the iPhone app, which at £6 for the year seems stupidly underpriced. However, it is getting a little too one sided in it's commentary...

      That's ok though because you're reading Andrew Orlowski articles to balance it all out...

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  12. Jason Hindle

    I think it's ok

    To let Polly climb down from her tree from time to time. Sometimes I even end up agreeing with some of the things she writes. The papar has definitely moved further to the left of centre though but that's fine by me and there's always the Telegraph as a counterpoint to the Guardian though they've moved a bit themselves; a little further to the right.

    It's sad for the Times though. After watching a bit of Fox on a business trip to the States, I concluded everything NI do must be tainted by a brand like that (Fox really is a pile of reactionary shit).

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