The Guardian (UK)

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This article is about the bourgeois newspaper. For the Communist Party of Australia's newspaper, see The Guardian (Australia)

The Guardian
Founded
The Manchester Guardian

5 May 1821
FounderJohn Edward Taylor
IndustryBourgeois media
HeadquartersKings Place, London
OwnershipGuardian Media Group

The Guardian, originally called The Manchester Guardian, is a liberal and imperialist corporate newspaper based in the UK which claims to be progressive.[1] It has received a large amount of funding from capitalists and capitalist-supporting institutions,[2] including Bill Gates.[3] In October 2023, it fired Nathan J. Robinson for criticizing U.S. funding of Israel.[4]

History

Founding

The Manchester Guardian was founded in 1821 by cotton merchant John Edward Taylor as an independent liberal newspaper in response to the Peterloo massacre of August 1819. The paper was created to spread its founders brand of liberalism and represent the elite of Manchester using capital earned from slavery. The paper claimed to have given a voice to the working class but in reality they helped to steer public opinion away from radical proposals and instead towards more minor reforms that were more palatable to the bourgeois.[5]

National Newspaper

In 1959 The Manchester Guardian changed its name to The Guardian when it decided to become a national newspaper rather than a provincial one in order to increase its influence and usefulness to British imperialism.[6]

References

  1. "Political affiliation" (2008-10-16). The Guardian.
  2. Ricardo Bilton (2017-8-28). "Could the guardians quest for philanthropic support squeeze out other news nonprofit?" Niemanlab.
  3. "Committed grants". gatesfoundation.org.
  4. Alan MacLeod (2023-10-13). "Propaganda Blitz: How mainstream media is pushing fake Palestine stories" MintPress News. Archived from the original on 2023-10-23.
  5. Des Freedman, et al (2021). Capitalism's Conscience: 200 Years of the Guardian: 'In the Wake of Peterloo? A Radical Account of the Founding of the Guardian'. Pluto Press.
  6. Aaron Ackerley, et al (2021). Capitalism's Conscience: 200 Years of the Guardian: 'The Political Economy of the Guardian'. Pluto Press.