BRITISH PRESS
NEWSPAPERS IN BRITAIN Newspapers have existed in Britain since 1621. But for over 300 years they were written and read by only a tiny minority. When, in 1896, a newspaper was produced in large numbers at such low prices that ordinary people could buy it on every street corner, it was an instant success. l All newspapers in Britain, daily or Sunday ones, can broadly be divided into the quality press and the popular press. The quality newspapers are also known as ‘heavies’ and they usually deal with home and overseas news, with detailed and extensive coverage of sports and cultural events. Besides they also carry financial reports, travel news and book and film reviews. l
l The popular press or the ‘populars’ are also known as tabloids as they are smaller in size being halfsheet in format. Some people also call them the ‘gutter press’ offering news for the people less interested in daily detailed news reports. They are characterised by large headlines, carry a lot of big photographs, concentrate on the personal aspects of news, with reports of the recent sensational and juicy bits of events, not excluding the Royal family. The language of a tabloid is much more colloquial, if not specific, than that of quality newspapers.
Here is a possibly witty though true classification of English newspapers: l l l l ‘The Times’ is read by the people who run the country; ‘The Mirror’ is read by the people who think they run the country; ‘The Guardian’ is read by the people who think about running the country; ‘The Mail’ is read by wives of the people who run the country; ‘The Daily Telegraph’ is read by the people who think the country ought to be run as it used to be; ‘The Express’ is read by the people who think it is still run as it used to be; ‘The Sun’ is read by the people who don't care who runs the country as long as the naked girl at page three is attractive.
l In Britain today there are four nationwide quality papers: ‘The Times’, ‘The Daily Telegraph’, ‘The Guardian’ and ‘The Independent’. l ‘The Sun’, ‘The Daily Mirror’, ‘The Daily Mail’, ‘The Daily Express’ are usually considered to be ‘populars’.
Quality Press
British Tabloids are represented by: l ‘The Sun’, founded in 1964, has a circulation of around four million and outsells all other ‘populars’.
l ‘The Daily Mirror’ with a circulation of about three million, was founded in 1903 and has always traditionally supported the Labour Party.
l ‘The Observer’ is the oldest Sunday paper. It was founded in 1791 and today has a circulation of around half a million and is politically moderate in views.
l The best-selling Sunday popular newspaper is ‘The News of the World’. Its circulation is over five million, and it has a reputation for its detailed reports of crime stories but also for its sports coverage.
Why on earth does Britain, which has access to the best press agencies and the highest journalistic standards, consume tabloids like chocolate? Maybe the reason is that we have enough news on the television, in the Internet and in the quality newspapers. l Tabloids are not actually about news at all; tabloids are just about gossip. And we all know that when it comes to gossip, what matters is not what is true or what is kind, but what is entertaining and what is funny. The more in bad taste a story is, the funnier it seems. And bad taste is what the British tabloids have made into art. l
l Reading a Sunday paper, like having a big Sunday lunch, is an important tradition in many British households. The British are one of the biggest newspaper-reading nations in the world. They say that the British press is investigative, it uncovers scandals in the governments, and if they are not satisfied with what they read in “The Times”, for instance, and think it is not true, they have the opportunity to go and pick up another newspaper and compare reportings. That what is called a free and objective press.
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