| overview
holdings
landmarks
|
landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
Context is provided by the broader communications and
media timeline on this site.
beginnings
1791
Observer founded by WS Bourne
1783 John Jacob Astor migrates
to US
1808 establishes American Fur Company
1814 William Innell Clement buys the Observer
1821 establishment of Manchester Guardian by
JE Taylor
1848 Astor dies worth US$20m, richest man in the country
the Victorian era
1855 Manchester Guardian becomes a daily
1868 Manchester Evening News founded by Mitchell
Henry
1868 Taylor family gains control of Manchester Evening
News
1870 Julius Beer buys Observer
1872 CP Scott formally appointed Editor of Manchester
Guardian
1880 Frederick Beer inherits Observer
1893 Frederick Beer's wife Rachel buys the Times
1893 William Waldorf Astor moves to UK
the Astors
1893 buys Pall Mall Gazette
1893 starts Pall Mall Magazine
1897 Edward Hulton launches
Manchester Evening Chronicle
1899 Astor becomes UK citizen
1905 Beer estate sells Observer to Northcliffe
1907 CP Scott buys Manchester Guardian from Taylor
family for £242,000
1907 Manchester Guardian becomes ltd company
1908 James Louis Garvin becomes editor of Observer
1911 Astor buys Observer from Harmsworth
family
1912 John Jacob Astor IV dies in the sinking of the Titanic
1914 Pall Mall Magazine sold to Hearst
1916 William Waldorf Astor becomes British peer
1919 Guardian Weekly launched
1920 weekly Manchester Guardian Commercial launched
1922 John Jacob Astor buys London Times from
Northcliffe estate
1924 Scott family buys Manchester Evening News
for £108,000
1929 CP Scott retires, dies 1932
1936 JR Scott passes ownership of Manchester Guardian
and Manchester Evening News to the Scott Trust
1939 Manchester Guardian Commercial closes
1941 Garvin retires
1945 Astors transfer ownership of Observer
to family trust
1948 David Astor becomes proprietor of The Observer
Guardian expansion
1959 The Manchester Guardian renamed The
Guardian
1961 acquires daily Manchester Evening Chronicle
from Berry family
1963 merger of Evening News and Evening Chronicle
as Manchester Evening News & Chronicle
1964 Manchester Guardian moves to London
1966 Astors sell The Times to Thomson
1968 Guardian takes stake in Anglia Television
1972 takes 10% of Greater Manchester Independent Radio
(Piccadilly Radio)
1974 buys Rochdale Observer group of local newspapers
from Scott family
1977 buys Stockdale Advertiser newspaper chain
ARCO and Lonrho
1977 Astors sell ailing Observer to US oil giant
Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) for US$1
1979 Lonrho gains control of George Outram (Glasgow Herald
and Evening Times) and Scottish & Universal Newspapers
1979 Guardian buys Surrey Advertiser chain
1981 ARCO sells Observer to Lonrho
1981 Stockport Express chain and Stockport Advertiser
chain merge as Lancashire & Cheshire County Newspapers
(50% held by Guardian)
1982 Guardian acquires controlling stake in Northwest
Automart
1985 gains remaining 50% of Lancashire & Cheshire
County Newspapers
1985 Weekly Mail (later Mail & Guardian)
launched in South Africa
1987 launches Manchester Metro News free daily
1987 gains control of North East, Bristol and Scottish
Automart
1989 buys stake in Broadcast Communications (later GMG
Endemol)
1990 forms Trafford Park Printers joint venture with Telegraph
1990 buys Accrington Observer
1990 gains control of Broadcast Communications
1990 Broadcast Communications buys Peter Bazalgette's
Bazal production house
1990 buys Hawkshead
1991 Guardian takes stake in GMTV
1992 Lonrho sells George Outram to MBO and Scottish &
Universal Newspapers to Trinity
for £45m
1992 Broadcast Communications buys music and live event
tv producer Initial
GMG and TMG
1992 Guardian holdings reorganised as Guardian Media Group
plc (GMG)
1993 Observer bought by GMG
1994 GMG buys Thames Valley Newspapers from Thomson
1994 sells radio interests (centred on TransWorld Communications)
to Emap
1995 becomes majority shareholder in M&G Media in
South Africa, with Weekly Mail renamed as Mail
& Guardian
1995 takes stake in Golden Rose Communications (jazz fm)
1998 Endemol becomes partner in Broadcast Communications
with 50% stake
1999 GMG re-establishes radio broadcasting arm
2000 Workthing recruitment solutions founded
2000 TMG created through merger of GMG's Auto Trader division
with Hurst Publishing
2000 GMG sells GMTV stake
2000 sells Broadcast Communications stake to Endemol,
which rebadges the business as Endemol UK
2000 Spanish telecoms group Telefonica
buys Endemol for £3.5bn
2001 GMG buys Scot FM from The Wireless Group plc for
£25.5m
2001 wins Yorkshire Regional Radio licence
2002 buys Clear Channel's stake
in jazzfm
2002 launches Real Radio Scotland
2002 sells 87.5% of M&G Media to Ncube's Newtrust
Company Botswana Ltd
2003 increases stake in Trader Media Group from 48% to
100% in deal that values Trader at £1.14bn
2003 acquires remaining stake in Learnthings Ltd
2004 sells Workthing Ltd to recruitment specialist hotgroup
plc for £6m
2005 increases stake in Reading 107 FM (launched 2002)
from 37.8% to 60.3%
2006 buys GCap Media's two Century
regional radio stations in Manchester and Gateshead for
£60m
2006 agrees to buy four regional FM licences from Saga
Radio (east Midlands, West Midlands, Glasgow and North-east)
for £70m
2007 sells 49.9% of Trader Media business to Apax for
£674m
2007 GMG and Apax pay around £1bn for Emap's
business-to-business magazine and events arm
2008 GMG buys ContentNext (PaidContent business website)
::
|
|
