The Guardian is being driven out of the United States because its uber-liberal standpoint makes it incapable of surviving in Trump’s America, according to a new exposé.
A major report into the inner workings of the news site revealed that advertisers have been fleeing since Donald Trump’s triumph at the presidential election.
A long article by Digiday picking over the outlet’s financial trouble said that its political stance has proved “toxic” since November 9th.
The news operation has long struggled to make ends meet as exorbitant spending securing major stories failed to bring in very much cash:
…the Guardian had trouble selling itself to ad buyers in the U.S. Its audience still lagged heavy hitters like the Times and Washington Post and wasn’t differentiated enough to justify paying a premium for direct-sold ads.
Trump’s election made the news category especially toxic to advertisers, who fled for safer territory, which put the liberal Guardian at a particular disadvantage.
In recent months its US staff, based in Manhattan, have been told to expect huge cuts and lay-offs.
It is a sharp U-turn after years of full-tilt expansion.
The publication was still on a hiring spree in 2016, Digiday reported, and moved all of its employees to a massive trophy office, complete with free beer.
However, the space was never filled, and the news operation is now due to move into much humbler surroundings.
A move to Brooklyn was vetoed after it emerged their home-to-be was owned by one of Jared Kushner’s companies. Also, they didn’t want to commute that far.
Losses at the Guardian – which is mainly based in the UK – are expected to exceed $100million this year.