The company has been researching the possibility of launching a me-too tabloid edition after the success of The Independent and The Times but Rusbridger told staff that the reasons behind the other newspapers' decision to launch compact editions do not apply to The Guardian.
Rusbridger told staff at the newspaper on Friday: "Our key priority is to maintain the integrity of The Guardian's journalism and we believe that will be achieved in the long term through sustained editorial investment and remaining distinctive in an ever-converging newspaper market."
Rusbridger also said that the costs would be a huge financial risk for the group. The financial impact of printing two editions of the same newspaper are a burden, with The Times reported to be spending as much as £15m in the first year of its compact edition. The Independent is so confident in the success of its new product it has dropped the broadsheet edition in the South West, Wales, Scotland and Ireland to save on costs.
The Guardian Media Group, which owns the paper, does not have the same deep pockets that Times or Independent owners, Rupert Murdoch and Sir Anthony O'Reilly respectively, have.
At the same time, Rusbridger acknowledged that The Guardian's circulation had been hit by the development of tabloid editions. January was a good month for national newspaper circulation but while last Friday's ABC figures showed a rise of 4.7% at The Independent and 3.8% at The Times, The Guardian put on only 2.1% for the month. Year on year, it was down by 3.8%.
The Guardian was reported last month to have produced dummies for a tabloid edition that had been dubbed "Guardian Lite", which was to launch in major commuter markets. However, at the time the newspaper's marketing director Marc Sands said: "To say we are launching a title called Guardian Lite is absolute rubbish."
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