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C P Scott
C P Scott Photograph: C P Scott
C P Scott Photograph: C P Scott

The Scott Trust: values and history

The Trust forms part of a unique ownership structure for the Guardian that ensure editorial interests remain free of commercial pressures

Full coverage: history and timelines of the Guardian and Observer

The Scott Trust: values and history

The Trust forms part of a unique ownership structure for the Guardian that ensures editorial interests remain free of commercial pressures

The Scott Trust: a unique form of global media ownership

The Scott Trust was originally created in 1936 to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of the Guardian free from commercial or political interference.

The Trust was reconstituted in 1948 and 2008 it was replaced with The Scott Trust Limited, a limited company with the same protections for the Guardian enshrined in its constitution. The Scott Trust is the sole shareholder in Guardian Media Group and its profits are reinvested in journalism and do not benefit a proprietor or shareholders.

The formation of The Scott Trust

The Manchester Guardian was founded in 1821 to promote the liberal interest in the aftermath of the Peterloo massacre. The newspaper gained an international reputation under long-serving editor and owner CP Scott.

When CP Scott retired from managing and editing the paper in July 1929, he passed control to his two sons. John was manager and Edward (Ted) took over as editor.

The death of CP Scott and son Ted within three months of each other in 1932 brought a very real threat to the future independence of the Guardian.

The Inland Revenue would claim full death duties, or inheritance tax, in the event of John’s death and would mean the end of the Manchester Guardian as an independent liberal newspaper.

To prevent this, John renounced all financial benefit in the business for himself and his family by transferring all the ordinary shares in the company – a stake worth more than £1 million at the time – to a group of trustees. The Scott Trust became the owner of the Manchester Guardian.

The Trust Deed of June 19, 1936 echoed the long-standing injunction to those who take up responsibility for the paper. It stated that the company must ‘be carried on as nearly as may be upon the same principles as they have heretofore been conducted’. This remains the sole instruction given to the incoming Guardian editor by the Trust.

The core purpose of The Scott Trust is:

  • to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity: as a quality international news organisation without party affiliation; remaining faithful to its liberal tradition; as a profit-seeking enterprise managed in an efficient and cost-effective manner

  • all other activities should be consistent with the central objective. The Company which the Trust owns should: be managed to ensure profits are available to further the central objective; not invest in activities which conflict with the values and principles of the Trust

  • the values and principles of the Trust should be upheld throughout the Group. The Trust declares a subsidiary interest in promoting the causes of freedom in the press and liberal journalism, both in Britain and elsewhere.

The values of The Scott Trust

The Manchester Guardian was founded in the liberal interest to support reform in the early 19th century. The ethos of public service has been part of the DNA of the newspaper and Group ever since.

CP Scott, the famous Manchester Guardian editor, outlined the paper’s principles in his celebrated centenary leader on May 5, 1921.

The much-quoted article is still used to explain the values of the present-day newspaper, Trust and Group. It is also recognised around the world as the ultimate statement of values for a free press.

Among the many well known lines are the assertions that ‘Comment is free, but facts are sacred’, that newspapers have ‘a moral as well as a material existence’ and that ‘the voice of opponents no less than that of friends has a right to be heard’. The values he described are: honesty; cleanness (today interpreted as integrity); courage; fairness; and a sense of duty to the reader and the community.

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