The Guardian
Steve Matthewson
Head of business and development professional networks
steve.matthewson@theguardian.com
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Steve is a journalist at Guardian News and Media in London where he heads up the business and Global Development Professionals networks. He has worked in digital media, for wire agencies and for daily and weekly newspaper titles in South Africa and London, as well as in media relations in the banking sector.
He has studied at the University of Central Lancashire, University of South Africa, Rhodes University, and Durban University of Technology.
The Guardian is located at Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, United Kingdom.
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The Guardian
The Guardian was founded in Manchester and eventually moved to London. The Guardian also has offices in the US and Australia.
The Guardian just recently developed digital products and services. In 2011 The Guardian revealed plans “to become a digital-first organisation.” Since this new strategy The Guardian expanded digitally by launching a Guardian app for iPhone, iPod Touch, Facebook, Kindle and iPad.
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Awards
The Guardian has received many awards. It has been awarded the National Newspaper of the Year at the British Press Awards, the daily newspaper of the Year at the London Press Club Awards and the World’s Best-Designed Newspaper from the Society for News Design.
The Guardian shared the Pulitzer Prize for public service reporting in 2014 “for their groundbreaking articles on the National Security Agency’s surveillance activities based on the leaks of Edward Snowden.” The Pulitzer Prize is considered the highest accolade in US journalism. The award was given to The Guardian and the Washington Post after they published “the most substantial disclosures of US government secrets since the Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam War in 1971.”
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Scandals
The Guardian writes about every topic imaginable. These topics include the 2016 election, US, world, opinion, sports, soccer, tech, arts, lifestyle, fashion, business, travel and environment.
The Guardian leaked information on US diplomatic cables in 2010, secret intelligence documents given to journalists by Edward Snowden in 2013, and the Panama Papers in 2016. The Guardian is obviously not afraid to release stories on leaked information on big scandals happening around the world.
The Guardian Reflection
Our first visit in London was with The Guardian. The Guardian was originally found in Manchester and eventually moved to London. The founder was John Edward Taylor. After his and his son’s death, CP Scott—the longest editor—bought the paper. CP Scott later passed the newspaper to his two sons. The ownership of The Guardian was later formally passed on to the Scott Trust to ensure financial security. In addition to an office in London, there are also offices in the US and Australia.
When visiting The Guardian, we met with Steve Matthewson. He is a very accomplished and intelligent man. Mr. Matthewson’s online biography states he “is a journalist at Guardian News and Media in London where he heads up the business and Global Development Professionals networks. He has worked in digital media for wire agencies and for daily and weekly newspaper titles in South Africa and London, as well as in media relations in the banking sector. He has studied at the University of Central Lancashire, University of South Africa, Rhodes University, and Durban University of Technology.” He presented us with the following information.
The Guardian is a newspaper with a 170,000-person audience. The Guardian is produced and sold Monday-Saturday. Saturday is the most popular day due to the amount of people off work and able to read the newspaper. The Observer, produced and sold on Sundays, has a 200,000-person audience.
The Guardian now focuses mainly on their 24/7 website. They are considered “a digital first company.” The website will adjust to every screen whether it be for a desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. The Guardian will produce till early in the morning. The content is very “community driven” and the paper contains consumer and professional content. The Guardian is made in many different sections such as the 2016 election, US, world, opinion, sports, soccer, tech, arts, lifestyle, fashion, business, travel and environment. There is something to read for everyone.
The new layout of the website is practicing advertising. We were able to take a first-hand look into the new design. When presented with a logo and stated, “supported by” the individual provides the content. When presented with a logo and stated, “paid for by” the advertiser supplies the content. When there are advertisements the journalists name is not provided.
The visit to The Guardian was very beneficial. The class learned more about the newspaper and moving into the digital world along with advertising techniques. The Guardian gave us insight on many different interests in the field of mass communications. I am thankful for the visit to The Guardian.