The Scott Trust
The Scott Trust has been the sole shareholder in Guardian Media Group since 1936, when John Russell Scott renounced his family’s stake in the Guardian and transferred ownership to a group of trustees. The shareholders of the Scott Trust take no dividend from the business. All of GMG’s profits are reinvested in journalism and do not benefit a proprietor or shareholders.
The Scott Trust’s ownership of the Guardian ensures our editor-in-chief and journalists are shielded from any undue influences, whether commercial, political or financial. This is a powerful and liberating model for journalism. It ensures that editorial decisions — what we say and how we say it — are decisions for the editor-in-chief.
While the Guardian has grown over this period to serve tens of millions of regular readers all over the world, with newsrooms in the UK, US and Australia, the Scott Trust’s founding purpose has remained the same: “to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity”.
Purpose
The core purpose of the Scott Trust is to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity. Its secondary purpose is to champion and promote the causes of freedom of the press and access to liberal journalism in the UK and around the world.
The Guardian seeks to be self-sustaining financially but the security of the Scott Trust allows it to look beyond the here and now, towards future-facing investments and initiatives that safeguard Guardian journalism for generations to come.
The Trust is ultimately accountable for any issues that may materially impact the preservation of the financial position and independence of the Guardian. This includes the reputation of the Guardian and the promotion of liberal and progressive journalism.
Through the Guardian Foundation, the Trust also supports a number of programmes around the world that support the freedom of the press and the future of liberal journalism.
Read more about Scott Trust initiatives to promote liberal journalism and support the next generation of reporters here.
History
The Manchester Guardian was founded in 1821 following the Peterloo Massacre and gained prominence under long-serving editor and owner CP Scott's leadership.
After the deaths of CP Scott and his son Ted in 1932, his surviving son, John, faced a financial crisis that risked the future of the Manchester Guardian as an independent liberal newspaper.
To preserve it, John transferred ownership worth over £1 million to the Scott Trust in 1936, requiring only that the paper maintain its founding principles.
The Trust Deed of 19 June 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 any incoming Guardian editor by the Trust.
The Trust was reconstituted in 1948 and then became The Scott Trust Limited in 2008, backed by an endowment fund to ensure the Guardian's financial stability and editorial independence.
In 2021 the Scott Trust undertook a review of governance arrangements, in light of the many changes the media industry had experienced during the previous decade. The review clarified the roles of the Scott Trust and Guardian Media Group boards, ensuring they are better positioned to support the Guardian’s purpose and mission, editorially and commercially, as it looks to the future. The conclusions can be read here. A summary of today’s governance structure is available here.
Values
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 Guardian ever since.
In his 1921 centenary editorial, editor CP Scott established its enduring principles: honesty, integrity, courage, fairness, and a sense of duty to readers and community. His famous declaration that "Comment is free, but facts are sacred" and emphasis on giving voice to both supporters and opponents remain at the heart of the present-day news organisation.
Change in over a century is inevitable — the Scott Trust continues to renew and reinvent based on its responsibilities.
These principles are maintained through a voluntary payment model, keeping information free from a paywall, and global expansion to serve a community not defined by geography, but by a shared hope for the future. They also inform a rigorous self-regulation through an independent readers' editor who addresses public concerns about its journalism.
From a regional weekly that sold 1,000 copies to a global media organisation that pulls in millions of readers every day, the Guardian has come a long way since 1821.
View the Guardian timeline- • The Guardian History
- • Women
- • Society
- • Environment
- • World
- • Cartoons
The Scott Trust Endowment
The Scott Trust built up a substantial endowment fund through prudent sale of assets which have since been invested for long-term growth. These funds are managed by the Scott Trust Endowment.
The Guardian Foundation
Through the Scott Trust, our independent charity the Guardian Foundation supports media under threat, promotes diversity in the media and empowers children and young people to engage with the news. The charity envisions a world in which all people can tell their stories, access the truth and hold power to account.
