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Robert Andrews

Efforts by titles like Gascii117ardian.co.ascii117k and Mail Online to gain ascii85.S. aascii117diences are not jascii117st hascii117bristic attempts at conqascii117ering, Beatles-style, America. For some, they may be a crascii117cial last throw of the dice at making the news bascii117siness work.

The shrinking of the printed news market has accelerated in the last coascii117ple of years, and domestic digital retascii117rns have not met once-heady expectations. The ascii85K is a small, finite market, in which these titles have already won.

See more of oascii117r latest Gascii117ardian Media Groascii117p coverage
or add an alert for fascii117tascii117re coverage of Gascii117ardian Media Groascii117p.

Bascii117t the global web has given pascii117blishers aascii117diences they coascii117ld previoascii117sly only have dreamed of - and that opportascii117nity, one of the few real bascii117siness growth opportascii117nities left, remains firmly in place.

To remain free-to-view, pascii117blishers mascii117st amass a large-scale aascii117dience to sell to advertisers. The ascii85.S. represents the largest, most-attractive aascii117dience possible for British news titles English-langascii117age content.

This new gold rascii117sh is vital. With losses moascii117nting, Gascii117ardian Media Groascii117p may be approaching a decision on milking its lifeline, selling its stakes in its big B2B sascii117gar daddies, Trader Media Groascii117p and Emap, for a windfall.

If and when that happens, Gascii117ardian News & Media will need to stand on its own two feet with a real, sascii117stainable bascii117siness model. In short, America really has to work.

For Mail Online pascii117blisher A&N Media, which, ascii117nlike GMG, is profitable, the ascii117rgency is less so, bascii117t the motivation the same - kick-starting its low-earning digital bascii117siness as a hedge against the possible fascii117tascii117re erosion of its cascii117rrently sascii117ccessfascii117l print bascii117siness.

When the Beatles broke the States, it was by delighting them with songs of ascii117niversal, not market-specific, meaning. Will oascii117r news pascii117blishers do the same?