I wanted to write to you personally to remind you that on January 15 there will be a significant change to your newspapers, when the Guardian and Observer will be redesigned in a beautiful new tabloid format.
The new design is the result of months of thought, creativity and vision by a team of talented designers and senior editors, and I hope you love it as much as I do. We are thrilled by the new papers. They are visual and serious; explanatory and keepable; full of life and stories and ideas.
As editor-in-chief of the Guardian and the Observer, my job is to ensure that our independent journalism continues to be enjoyed by as many readers as possible and that our print newspapers make a positive financial contribution to securing a sustainable future. Moving to the tabloid format strengthens our ability to do both, and reinforces our ongoing commitment to print.
Since the Berliner format was introduced in 2005, it has been rightly heralded around the world for its innovative design, and has won many awards. But the Guardian, along with other newspapers, is facing long-term, structural pressures on print advertising and circulation, two of our traditional sources of income, as well as challenging digital advertising revenues.
While the Guardian is now funded more by our readers than by advertising, we still have a long way to go to secure our future, and printing in tabloid format will save us millions of pounds each year.
From January 15, the Guardian and the Observer will be printed and distributed by Trinity Mirror at sites in Watford, Oldham, Glasgow and Birmingham. This is the first time in decades that we will be printing in Scotland, helping guarantee timely distribution for Scottish readers.
Most importantly, our high-quality, independent journalism remains the same. As I outlined recently in my essay on the role of the Guardian, we believe that people long to understand the world, especially at this tumultuous time, and so we are committed to providing them with clarity: facts they can trust and information that they need, reported and written and edited and presented with care and precision. We also believe that people long to create a better world, and so the Guardian must nurture imagination – hopeful ideas, fresh alternatives, a belief that the way things are isn’t the way things need to be.
We would love to know what you think of the new design: please do share your thoughts by emailing new.guardian@guardian.co.uk or writing to:
Customer Experience The Guardian Kings Place 90 York Way London N1 9GU. I hope you continue with us on this next, exciting stage in our journey. Thank you for supporting the Guardian and the Observer. We could not do what we do without you.
Kind regards,
Katharine Viner Editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media
