Guardian News & Media (GNM), the publisher of
The Guardian,
announced yesterday that it would become a "digital-first" organisation.
Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of GNM, and
Andrew Miller, chief executive of
Guardian Media Group (GMG), revealed outlines of a "major transformation programme", which would push operations at The Guardian "beyond the newspaper, shifting focus, effort and investment towards digital, because that is our future".
Miller described The Guardian's undertaking as "a major transformation that will see us change from a print-based organisation to one that is digital-first in philosophy and practice". The company said the new strategy was a response to challenges facing the whole media industry, which is seeing on the one hand a decline in print circulation and advertising revenues, but on the other, rapid growth in digital audiences.
The GMG chief also said that the newspaper and its sister publication
The Observer had lost £33 million in cash terms last year. He warned that unless GMG changed its business operations, it could run out of cash in three to five years. The new strategy includes a plan to save £25 million over the next year. More importantly, the newspaper aims to double its digital revenues, which are expected to be at £47 million in the current financial year.