The Guardian puts ‘shed’ project on ice

When Alan Rusbridger stepped down as Guardian editor-in-chief last year, he boasted of the ‘good shape’ he was leaving the paper in. Alas, for all his efforts it appears that some of Rusbridger’s pet projects are now falling by the wayside.

Back in 2014, the paper announced to much fanfare that they were taking the paper in a new direction. Forget multi-platform digital journalism, they were going boldly where no paper had gone before — live:

‘This is our vision: around the world, the Guardian will host and create the forums and opportunities that bring people together; to explore, debate and shape the vital intimate and global issues of our age.

From a renovated train station in King’s Cross to pop-ups in far flung global cities, we’re building platforms for Guardian readers – a bold response to the disintegrating fabric of our public realm.’

The big idea was to transform the Midland Goods Shed in Kings Cross into the ‘Guardian Shed’, or more precisely an ‘open amphitheater for festivals, acoustic gigs and debate’. The events space would also feature a restaurant and a Guardian coffee shop. The article boasted that the Guardian shed would have ‘an armchair cinema, a 3D printing and fabrication lab, a rooftop garden, galleries and a dozen atmospheric spaces hosting events in everything from photojournalism to ceramics, from breaking news to works of fiction’.

So two years on, how’s that working out? Not all that well actually. The paper’s new editor Katharine Viner has put the project on ice following a ‘strategic review of Guardian Media Group’s business’ alongside David Pemsel. It appears the pair decided that spending millions on the project wasn’t the best idea given that they are predicted to have an annual loss of more than £40m.

While the news is likely to upset many Guardian members who were looking forward to visiting the shed, Mr S isn’t all that surprised. After all, the Guardian‘s attempt at a coffee shop in Shoreditch to boost their financial fortunes also fell flat — closing quietly last year.