It has come to How-Do’s attention that the Guardian Media Group appears to be researching the possibility of launching a new local website to cover the Manchester area.
The site, if it comes to fruition, will be branded with the Guardian name and offer a highly focused local service looking to “connect you with your local community.”
An ever-vigilant How-Do user informed us of the proposed plans after receiving a market research document entitled “Guardian Cities Desirability Concept.”
The objective of the digital survey seemed to be to garner information on how well existing local media sources catered for their audience in Manchester, while posing questions relating to how amenable respondents would be to a new service.
As such it quizzed on matters such as how and why the individual interacted with the local media, what they were looking for from these sources and whether they’d be interested in reading and taking part in city-based blogs.
How will it all fit together?
It also stated: “We are considering launching a Guardian-branded website that would connect you with your local community, cover local issues and provide you with information that was highly relevant to your area.
“How interested would you be in such a website?”
When contacted by How-Do, a Guardian spokesperson told us that "We routinely use research to explore ideas. The fact that we are doing research doesn't itself mean we will or won't launch a new product. As an innovative media company we are continuously assessing the needs of our audience."
We weren't told however whether the ‘Guardian Cities’ concept is solely intended for Manchester or other regional centres around the UK.
It is also unclear, if the site were to launch in Manchester, how it would fit in with the MEN Media’s large portfolio of local news, entertainment and commercial sites.
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