Rumours (see link: http://tinyurl.com/m9dkq9) which are circulating about the potential sale of The Observer got me thinking… What would stop the GMG from launching ‘The Guardian on Sunday’ or another competing publication?
I used to read the Observer purely because it was near-as-damn-it the “Sunday” version of the Guardian, but I had no loyalty to the Observer brand. Recently I think it went down hill and became too “eco” and too “ethical” and pandered towards middle class lefties in affluent suburbs of London, rather than its core liberal target audience. Don’t get me wrong I love the left, the environment and ethical thinking, but there was too much ‘bourgeois’ leftist thinking in the paper for my liking.
Whoever buys the paper will take a long hard look at its content no doubt, but I feel the biggest challenge would be to fend off GMG or A N Other publisher from launching a challenger title. I am sure any potential new owners would have this risk covered while undertaking due diligence. But where there is a will there is a way, and contracts are not always worth the paper they are written on.
Coupled to this risk is the fact that I personally would rather read a Guardian on Sunday as opposed to The Observer, and I don’t think I am alone, so here is another problem perhaps?
Tags: GMG, Media, Newspapers, The Guardian, The Observer Posted by
