It launched in September 2011, led by editor-in-chief Janine Gibson, and followed the earlier Guardian America service,[1] which was closed in 2009.

[5] On July 23, 2008 the Guardian Media Group announced that Caroline Little, the former chief executive and publisher of Washington Post and Newsweek Interactive, would join the Guardian News & Media America operation in the role of special adviser for its expansion in the United States.

She also joined the board of ContentNext, the USA-based digital business news publisher that owns PaidContent.org, acquired by GNM earlier in that month.

[8] The publication has also criticized their parent for publishing opinions "...that we believe promoted transphobic viewpoints, including some of the same assertions about gender that US politicians are citing in their push to eliminate trans rights.

GNM is controlled by Guardian Media Group (GMG), which is controlled by the Scott Trust Limited, a company which aims to ensure the editorial independence of GMG's publications and websites.