question about UK Guardian newspaper

[steve2470]

Is the Guardian very influential in the UK, or is it mainly limited to left-of-center readers ? Just curious, thanks a lot.

Steve (always curious Anglophile)

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Not 'very influential'

Readers are typically left-of-centre; indeed, 'Guardian reader' is a convenient stereotype; hence an entry in "Brewer's Britain and Ireland":

‘Guardian reader’ has come to denote a holder of the type of liberal-left views espoused by leading articles in The Guardian newspaper. The term is often used unflatteringly by Conservatives to ridicule those on the left whose feckless do-goodery – in their opinion – threatens the traditions and institutions that they cherish. Guardian readers are often perceived to belong to the ‘chattering classes’ (see also HAMPSTEAD, ISLINGTON and NORTH LONDON). A female Guardian reader would be unlikely to hit it off with an Essex Man (see under ESSEX), but a male one might fantasize furtively about Essex Girls (see also under ESSEX).

So The Guardian can be seen as representing a certain segment of Britain; but plenty of Britain would see that as a good reason to ignore it.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Draw your own conclusions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom_by_circulation

and see here : http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-17/guardian-loses-readers-even-after-bringing-down-murdoch-tabloid.html

My understanding is that most of its sales are in the south east.

[steve2470]

4. yes I see it's relatively small in the UK scheme of things, thanks nt

[LeftishBrit]

3. Sadly not - the right-wing tabloids have a far greater readership

Not that even the Guardian is super-left or invariably reliable; but it's a lot better than the tabloid press, which is in some ways our equivalent of your RW talkshows.

[steve2470]

5. thanks for your time everyone ! nt

[DavidDvorkin]

6. I wonder what its readership is abroad?

For decades after we left England, my father got The Guardian (it was still The Manchester Guardian, back then) by mail, printed on extremely light paper for airmail purposes.

My leftwing friends in the US all seem familiar with it, although nowadays of course they read the Web site.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. 2nd most popular British newspaper website in the world

over half of which is outside the UK - "almost 34.6 million unique users monthly, and 13.7 million unique British users monthly" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian.co.uk

after the Daily Mail, which is full of entertainment gossip (though I will admit they always put a lot a decent photos in the proper news stories that they run, which does differentiate them from a lot of news websites).

I'd think the printed readership abroad is tiny, these days.

[DavidDvorkin]

9. That's good to know

Thanks.

[T_i_B]

7. Not that influential

The Guardian has a reputation as a borgouis liberal paper. It's a reputable source of information, but it's readership can be somewhat limited.

The right-wing loves dreaming up straw man arguments involving Guardian readers which can be summarised by this http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/weenie.htm

My personal gripe with the Guardian is how much it focus's on lifestyle issues when economic matters are far more important right now.