British newspapers
British newspapers
British newspapers fall into different categories.
Where they come from
National newspapers are based in London, while provincial (or local) newspapers are based in towns and cities in the regions.
When they appear
There are daily newspapers, evening, weekly and Sunday newspapers. The main national daily newspapers are: the Times, the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Independent, the Mail, the Express, the Sun, the Mirror and the Star.
The Guardian appears six days a week, from Monday to Saturday, and the Observer is published by the Guardian Media Group on a Sunday, as a Sunday newspaper. Other Sunday newspapers include the Sunday Times, the Sunday Telegraph, and the Sunday Express and they appear on a Sunday – unlike some European newspapers!
The Guardian Weekly is published for a Tuesday delivery. Evening newspapers such as the Evening Standard, the Newcastle Chronicle, or the East Anglian Evening Star appear on newsstands about mid-afternoon, and contain a later news than the dailies, which have usually been printed by midnight.
Freesheets usually appear on weekdays, but can also appear occasionally for specific events. They are free because they are financed by selling advertising space. There are some sports newspapers containing only sports coverage such as football or racing results, and business or financial newspapers such as the Financial Times. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of provincial newspapers in the UK, many of them available online.
Who owns what
None of these newspapers is government-owned or dependent on the government in any way – they are all commercial companies, as well as being news outlets, and they often reflect the views of their owners, as well as those of their readership. Currently the Times and the Sun are owned by the international media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, the Telegraph by the Barclay brothers, the Daily Mail is owned by Viscount Rothermere, and the Express by Richard Desmond.
Size
In the past, the ‘quality‘ newspapers were also referred to as ‘broadsheets‘, because their pages were large. That is no longer the case, as most of them are now ‘compacts‘, having changed their format to a smaller, compact one. In Britain tabloids are usually considered down-market newspapers, with articles which sometimes amount to little more than scandal or gossip, and photos whose newsworthiness is highly dubious. This is why some papers refer to themselves as ‘compact‘ newspapers, rather than ‘tabloid‘ ones.This is another difference in Britain, as elsewhere in the world ‘quality’ newspapers often have a ‘tabloid’ form.
More about UK newspaper readers