Guardian To Invest £15 Million In Its Websites

The Guardian is to invest £15 million in its websites over the coming 18 months, as it aims to ensure its digital services keep pace with change.

Speaking at the Online Publishers Association conference, the Guardian Media Group chief executive, Carolyn McCall, announced the planned investment and said that it was imperative if the organisation was to keep its position at the forefront of the digital era.

McCall said that the Guardian is now competing not just with other national newspapers but broadcasters, search companies and web publishers as well.

She added that GMG’s 2007 digital revenues will increase by 50% in 2007, the fourth year in a row where those revenues have increased.

The Guardian quoted McCall as saying: “What we’ve done so far is our version of web 1.0, but we want to continue to web 2.0 and what comes after that.”

NewsLine reported yesterday that the Guardian‘s move to integrate its print and digital operations could lead to significant job losses (see Job Losses Expected As The Guardian Integrates Digital And Print Operations).

In today’s ABC’s, for February, the Guardian saw its circulation figure decline almost 5%, leaving it with a total figure of around 365,000 (see ABC National Newspaper Round-Up: February 2007).

The Guardian: 020 7478 5240 www.guardian.co.uk