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Guardian News & Media has launched a new membership programme with three tiers, from free to £60 a month, that give readers access to a range of events and activities.
“You may have come to our building to learn with the Guardian, with one of our series of Masterclasses,” said Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of GNM titles the Guardian and Observer. “Now you can join the Guardian.”
The new initiative, called Guardian Membership, aims to allow readers to get closer to the Guardian’s brand and open journalism philosophy.
“You can become a closer part of the community of journalists, readers and friends of an instituion that has been around for well over 190 years,” Rusbridger said. “By joining, you can be part of of our journey of transformation into an open and global 21st century media company.”
The Guardian Membership initiative includes an event hub in the Grade II listed Midland Goods Shed in King’s Cross, which is set to open in autumn 2016.
Guardian Live will be a rolling programme of events, discussions, debates, interviews, keynote speeches and festivals to bring the Guardian brand and experience to life in venues in the UK and internationally.
Guardian Membership comes in three tiers: Friends, which is free and gives access to events, news and bookings; Partners, which costs £15 per month and includes a range of discounts and priority booking for events; and Patrons, which costs £60 a month and will include an extra level of access including a “backstage pass” to GNM operations, including newsroom tours, print site visits and insight into the editorial process.
Patrons will also help shape the overall Guardian Membership community by being able to potentially host their own Guardian Live events.
The Guardian Membership initiative grew out of a readers’ weekend held at GNM’s King’s Cross headquarters in early 2012.
“Most readers said they would happily contribute money to the ‘cause’ of the Guardian – but an overwhelming majority also wanted the journalism to be free, so that it could reach the maximum possible audience. A fair number were happy to be subscribers. But the most hands shot up when asked if they would like to be ‘members’,” said Rusbridger.
Guardian Membership is in a soft-launch beta phase to fine tune the proposition, with a full launch expected in January.
The scheme will be extended to the US and Australia, as an extension of the Guardian’s digital editions and reader communities in both markets, and Guardian Live will host events in a number of cities around the world.
David Pemsel, deputy chief executive of GNM, said the scheme is not a “pay wall through another means” in the way that subscription offers by rival newspapers operate.
Pemsel said scores of events have been run prior to the official launch of Guardian Membership, citing examples such as a live interview with writer Ian McEwan and brunch with Yotam Ottolenghi.
“This is a physical manifestation of what you see on the iPhone, iPad or computer screen,” Pemsel said. “It is about finding new, meaningful ways to monetise our huge audience of over 100 million global users, while protecting and affirming our commitment to open journalism without building walls around our content. It is very different to subscription retention schemes.”
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