anniversaries

I wonder if the Guardian would be a better, more socially committed, and more distinctive paper if it moved the headquarters - and the majority of the journalists - back to Manchester.  It would be nice to break the fundamental provincialism of the London papers. 

Comments

[johnf]

I doubt if it could ever be disentangled from the metropolitan slurry - but you wonder what it would be like now if it had never left?

What would provincial "lifestyle" journalism be like?

[Phil]

It wouldn't be called 'provincial' for a kick-off.

[chris y]

It would be an interesting exercise to send all the national prints where they belong: the Telegraph to Eastbourne; the Mail to Basingstoke; the Express to Colchester, etc. The Sun would be condemned to move to Liverpool with a branch office in Sheffield, for historical reasons.

[john b]

the fundamental provincialism of the London papers

See, erm, what? As Chris says, the assorted right-wing rags aren't spiritually London anyway - they're targeted towards The Awful Places We All Wish Would Disappear. The Mirror's targeted at working class people in the North and the Midlands; the only papers that could plausibly be ascribed to London are the Indy, the Graun and maybe the Times.

[hellblazer]

johnb: haven't read it in years, but what about the Standard?