The Guardian

History and Ownership - The Guardian was founded in Manchester in 1821 by John Edward Taylor and the Little Circle. - It merged with the British Volunteer in 1825 and became The Manchester Guardian and British Volunteer. - The Scott Trust Limited was created in 1936 to secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian. - The trust remains the owner of The Guardian, along with its sister papers The Observer and The Guardian Weekly. - Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. - The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. - The newspaper changed its name to The Guardian in 1959, reflecting its focus on national and international affairs. Format, Circulation, and Stances - Since 2018, The Guardian's main newsprint sections have been published in tabloid format. - As of July 2021, its print edition had a daily circulation of 105,134. - The newspaper has an online edition, TheGuardian.com, as well as international websites for Australia, New Zealand, and the US. - The readership of The Guardian is generally on the mainstream left of British political opinion. - The newspaper reaches over 23 million UK adults each month, including online readership. - The Guardian earned respect during the Spanish Civil War for its support of the Republican government. - The newspaper opposed Aneurin Bevan and encouraged readers to vote Conservative in the 1951 general election. - The Guardian opposed the creation of the National Health Service. - The newspaper strongly opposed military intervention during the 1956 Suez Crisis. Notable Scoops and Awards - The Guardian obtained notable scoops such as the News International phone-hacking scandal and the PRISM surveillance program. - It led an investigation into the Panama Papers, exposing former Prime Minister David Cameron's links to offshore bank accounts. - The Guardian has been named newspaper of the year four times at the British Press Awards. - It scored highest for digital-content news trust in a 2018 Ipsos MORI research poll. - The paper's print edition was found to be the most trusted in the UK from October 2017 to September 2018. Abolition of Slavery and British Divisions over the Civil War - The Guardian opposed slavery and supported free trade. - It welcomed the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 and called for compensation to the planters. - The newspaper argued against restricting trade with countries that had not abolished slavery. - The Manchester Guardian portrayed the Northern states as imposing a trade monopoly on the Confederate States during the American Civil War. - The newspaper supported the Confederacy's right to self-determination but criticized Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation for not freeing all slaves. - Some British towns, including Liverpool, supported the Confederacy. - The Union blockade caused suffering in British towns. - The assassination of Abraham Lincoln shocked the British community. Controversies and Investigations - The Guardian challenged the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Treason Felony Act 1848. - It published a column by Charlie Brooker that sparked controversy and led to an apology. - The newspaper investigated tax avoidance by major UK companies and published a database of tax paid by FTSE 100 companies. - The Guardian played a pivotal role in exposing the News of the World phone hacking affair. - The newspaper has been accused of biased criticism of Israeli government policy and bias against Palestinians. - The Guardian received complaints about language used to describe Jews and Israel, leading to corrections and revisions. - The Guardian's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has sparked controversy and debate. - The newspaper launched a letter-writing campaign in Clark County, Ohio during the 2004 US election.