| Level | Item |
| Ref No | OHP/55 |
| Title | Caroline Marland |
| Date | 14 December 2001 |
| Extent | 2 minidiscs, 2 cds, 1 file, 4 AIFF files (862.6 MB) |
| Creator Name | Marland; Caroline Anne; managing director |
| Description | Interview with Caroline Marland, managing director for the Guardian. Conducted by Mathew Clayton on 14 December 2001. Also includes a data sheet containing biographical details about the subject and information about the recording and a detailed track guide.
Summary contents of interview (with rough timings):
Disc 1:
Track 1
Test
Track 2
00.00 First job in telesales for Yorkshire Evening Post
03.00 Moving to the Times, enjoyed it but it didn't promote women
04.00 Interviewed by Tim Russell Smith for job as telesales manager
04.10 Offered the job and reported to Grant Davidson
04.50 First day at Guardian all staff learnt that the company was in financial difficulties
05.00 Job involved selling space to personal ads - not recruitment space
05.00 Had to make £1000 a day in order to keep her job; only 3 members of team
08.20 Had the idea to sell recruitment advertising space
09.40 Trouble with selling Guardian space to companies
10.30 Peter Preston getting rid of adverts for editorial space
11.20 Working with Peter Preston c1978
14.20 Media Guardian - producing focused editorial to go with creative media
14.25 Remembers Peter Philip
15.00 Identified trends in recruitment advertising in relation to age of readers
16.00 Production of a line drawing of an older Daily Telegraph reader being pushed along by a young Guardian reader. Telegraph threatened to sue
17.50 Trying to get school vacancies advertised in newspaper
18.25 Idea to sell contracts to clients rather than agencies
19.00 Time spent going around country speaking to clients directly. Basis of commercial success
19.45 Decision to stay with the Guardian
20.05 Pay at the company
Track 3
00.00 Working on the board of the newspaper from 1983
00.20 Had held various management roles at the newspaper since 1976
01.00 Men in senior management roles
01.20 First female investment directors on a British newspaper
02.00 Behaviour of male investment directors at other British newspapers towards her
03.00 Pecking order on the board. Discusses important board figures
05.20 Her professional relationship with Peter Preston
05.30 Disagreement over cover price. Fears over starting a price war if the newspaper dropped their cover price
09.00 Remembers fellow female colleagues including Stella Vermont and Carolyn McCall who later became director
10.20 McCall reminded her of herself
11.45 Developments at the newspaper
11.50 Behvaiour of Tiny Rowland before GMG bought the Observer
12.40 Competition with the Independent to purchase the Observer
14.00 Announcement that they were buying the newspaper. Anecdote about Jim Markwick making announcement
14.40 Her experience in buying the newspaper. Bought unseen
15.20 Board largely uninvolved in buying the newspaper, led by Markwick and the Trust
16.00 Timeworking on budget at the Frimley Park Hotel
16.20 Discovering discrepancies in Observer advertising
17.00 Time at the Observer
18.00 Remembers Stuart Taylor, later investment director
18.30 Integration of the two newspapers
19.54 Advertising department culture
20.10 Not a bullying culture
20.45 Culture built on shared values
21.00 Guardian and Observer able to hire the best
21.45 Starting conferences to bring people together
22.05 Advertising conference trip in Amsterdam. Later visited Barcelona
23.30 Being in charge means you miss the 'best gossip' on trips
25.00 Manager styles
26.00 Jim Markwick's retirement
26.55 Working with Ian Ashcroft
27.20 Being headhunted for the board of Burton
28.00 Being made director of the newspapers board
29.00 Biggest challenges of being director. What to do with the Observer
29.20 The Guardian becoming profitable
30.00 Losing sight of the Observer's values. Different to the Guardian
31.00 Commercial integration of the Observer and Guardian versus the editorial integration
31.20 Roger Alton and the Observer
33.30 The Observer and Guardian unnatural partners
33.45 Production of the newspapers
34.50 John Duncan and his role in the development of the Observer
36.10 Observer sport magazine
36.50 Concerns over keeping the Observer
38.00 Return of the Observer to its prime
38.50 Core values of the Scott Trust. Protecting the Guardian and later the Observer
39.10 Biggest challenge was identifying and developing the classified section of the Guardian. The need to be profitable to remain free
40.00 The role of the unions changing during her career. Strength of the clerical union
41.10 Clear opportunities offered to employees
41.40 Rise of technology. Effect on unions
42.00 No threat of changing the Guardian into a tabloid. Would devalue quality
43.00 Role of the G2
44.00 Wired magazine
47.55 The Guardian brand
48.30 Actions of the Scott Trust during Stoke Newington police libel case. Case brought against the Guardian
50.30 Decision to defend against the libel case
52.10 Strength of the Guardian's values to stand against others
Disc 2:
Track 1
00.00 Her last years at the newspaper
00.30 Decision to retire
01.45 Preparing for her exit
02.00 Time spent in hospital and in a wheelchair following accident
02.30 Returning to the Guardian following accident
02.50 Her role in Guardian Media Group buying the Observer
04.10 Longterm investment in the website
04.55 Strength of character of Ian Katz in promoting investment in the website
05.50 Continued attempts to make the website profitable
06.05 The website is the future. The need to move forward. Taking the brand across the world
|
| Access Status | Open |
| Access Conditions | Access to recording via GNM Digital Repository |
| Image | 
|
| Format | Electronic record |
| CD recording |
| Printed document |
| Minidisc recording |
| Copyright | Guardian News & Media Ltd and Caroline Marland |
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