Guardian ploughs cash into websites

Jemima Kiss

Thursday March 8, 2007

The Guardian will invest £15m in its websites over the next 18 months as it aims to update its digital services for the web 2.0 era with features including video.

The Guardian Media Group chief executive, Carolyn McCall, revealed the planned digital investment as she told the Online Publishers Association conference today that the organisation had to adapt and change.

She said the Guardian is no longer competing just with national newspapers but with broadcasters, search companies and web publishers.

"What we've done so far is our own version of web 1.0, but we want to continue to web 2.0 and what comes after that," Ms McCall added. "We need to be agile and ready to change."

Ms McCall said that GMG's 2007 digital revenues would increase by 50% this year, the fourth consecutive year that those revenues had increased.

However, she cautioned that the Guardian Unlimited website was not likely to report a profit next year as it begins a period of increased investment.

SuMmArY

The article highlights how the Guardian plans to increase its spending over the next couple of years to £15 million on its online servies. It also explains that this is because of the rise of internet servies and how the Guardian is no longer competitiong solely with national newspapers but broadcasters, search companies and web publishers

My OpInIoN

In My opinion this article highlights the ever-growing technoligal society that we now live in and how the tradtional 'buying and reading a newspapers' is a thing of the past. Today, the internet has become such a powerful tool for accessing news from all over the world and the Guardian investing £15million in its websites highlights this. I also find in extremely interesting how the Guardian no longer regards other newpapers as its competitors but broadcasters, and web publishers. I feel potentially in 15-20 years or even less we risk losing the traditional newspaper and the internet could take over people's lives increases the ill-literacy in society and lack of kids reading and studying at traditonal, grassroots 'reading and writing'.