The battle for America: Mail and Guardian look west

The battle between Britain’s newspapers is about to spill onto the streets of New York, as Associated Newspapers and Guardian News & Media both prepare to launch their first dedicated editorial operations in the city that never sleeps.

The two publishers are reluctant to reveal details but preparations are well underway to establish two rival digital news desks within Manhattan.

First out the blocks will be a SoHo office with a remit to boost Associated’s Daily Mail spin-off MailOnline US. The ground work has been laid throughout much of the first quarter by a small, covert team, part-led by MailOnline publisher Martin Clarke.

Known for his exacting standards and no-nonsense approach, Clarke’s remit has been a closely guarded secret but comes as MailOnline looks set to officially be declared the world’s most read English-language newspaper (following the New York Times erecting a paywall).

Associated has already appointed Matthew Kearney as chief executive of MailOnline US in late 2010, and HR specialist Petrit Husenaj (formerly part of WPP’s Talent Team), arrived to handle a recruitment process as chief-of-staff last month.

It should be noted that MailOnline is also in the process of developing news operations on the West Coast, with staff being hired in LA.

Back in New York, GNM has been slightly more forthcoming about its plans to open an office “later this year”. Content will be led by Janine Gibson, editor of Guardian.co.uk, who flew into New York last Thursday (7 April).

Gibson will be joined by Guardian.co.uk news editor, Stuart Millar, who becomes deputy editor. Taking responsibility for the bottom line will be none other than former president of the US Financial Times, Steve Howe, who joins as chief revenue officer.

The two separate New York operations will build on a handful of editorial and sales teams already dotted around the US for both brands, most notably in Washington.

The rationale behind entering the Big Apple is clear enough; both media groups have forsaken any kind of online paywall in favour of open mass reach, so expanding in the world’s largest and most affluent English-speaking market appears something of a no-brainer.

Total Audience: News/Information – Newspaper, United States

Source ComScore

This is underlined when you look at available metrics from both ComScore and Nielsen. Both place MailOnline and the Guardian.co.uk among the leading 15 news sites in the country.

According to ComScore, MailOnline was visited by 16.5m Americans in March, while Guardian.com has an audience of nearly 10.8 million. The momentum is currently with MailOnline, which in the last year alone has increased its US web traffic by 30%, while the more established Guardian.co.uk lifted 1%, according to Nielsen.

Add to this the backdrop of the New York Times erecting a paywall around America’s biggest news site, and digital newspaper ad revenues rising 11% to top $3 billion last year, and suddenly the British invasion starts to look inspired.

Ideologically, Middle England’s God-fearing Daily Mail and the liberal, free-thinking Guardian may be far removed, but they are united in their open approach to the web. In November, Clarke told a London conference: “We’re planning a few experiments next year that could be very exciting.

“Apart from working as a butcher’s boy when I was kid I don’t have lots of retail experience, but even I know that I’m going to have more chance of selling things in a shop visited by three million people a day, rather than one visited by a few thousand who’ve already had to pay for the privilege of getting in the front door.”

Meanwhile, Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of GNM, said last week: “The Guardian, which is owned by the Scott Trust, has attracted a very considerable audience in America in recent years.

“We believe there is real demand for the sort of open, internationalist, digital journalism which we have been pioneering. Janine Gibson has been at the heart of our web operations and is the ideal person to lead our new team in the US.”

An interesting new battleground for Britain’s newspapers is opening up, and it’s unlikely to be welcomed by native publishers, who are growing increasingly jaded.

Background to US press
The US press recorded an unprecedented five years of falling ad spend in 2010. Domestic newspaper advertising revenues dropped 23% in 2008 and a further 26% in 2009. The losses continued in 2010, down 6%, in a year of recovery for every other US media. The one ray of light among the increasing gloom has always been the potential of online. Newspaper brands continue to rate highly as a source of reliable content for most Americans, and almost half (46%) are now consuming news online at least three times a week, compared with just 40% reading print copies, claims Pew. Digital sales still account for less than 12% of the industry’s total ad sales.