The Guardian is a British daily newspaper founded in Manchester in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian by John Edward Taylor, later changing its name in 1959. It is owned by the Scott Trust (created in 1936), which ensures editorial independence and reinvests profits into journalism rather than shareholders. Under editor-in-chief Katharine Viner (since 2015), the paper is known for its mainstream left-leaning perspective and has been repeatedly rated the most trusted UK quality newsbrand, with a print circulation of 105,134 in July 2021 and a digital reach of over 23 million UK adults monthly. Its most famous scoops include exposing the 2011 News International phone-hacking scandal (which led to the closure of the News of the World), breaking the 2013 Edward Snowden surveillance revelations, and investigating the 2016 Panama Papers. The paper has expanded with US (2011) and Australian (2013) editions, and has been named "newspaper of the year" four times, most recently in 2023.