History UsefulNotes / BritishNewspapers

The ''Guardian'' is the UK's biggest left-leaning paper. It's often called the "Grauniad", a result of its former reputation for [[TyopOnTheCover frequent typos]], and its readers are often called "Guardianistas" (particularly as a derogatory comment on their political leanings, analogous to the American "''New York Times'' liberal"). It started life as the ''Manchester Guardian'' in 1821, only moving to London in 1964, five years after taking "Manchester" out of the title; it's now got a reputation of being particularly London-centric. It feels very centrist sometimes in spite of its left-leaning reputation; it doesn't support [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem Labour or the Whigs (currently the Liberal Democrats)]] so much as it opposes the Tories, and it has been critical of far-left governments in Latin America and Eastern Europe, basically following the British government stance there. The newspaper was also relentless in its criticism of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, finding nothing good or supportive to say about him or about Labour under his leadership, whilst simultaneously soft-pedalling on criticism of the party that was actually in government at the time. This leads to the accusation that they actually just tend to adopt any position that will best enable them to get away with adopting a tone of condescending self-righteousness, and so that its perceived upmarket metropolitan readership can express solidarity (in principle) with the oppressed masses, without being put to any actual inconvenience whilst doing so. The paper is also known for its anti-monarchist stance; its web portal even offers a "republican edition" when the [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily Royals]] are the topic of the day.\\\

The ''Guardian'' is the UK's biggest left-leaning paper. It's often called the "Grauniad", a result of its former reputation for [[TyopOnTheCover frequent typos]], and its readers are often called "Guardianistas" (particularly as a derogatory comment on their political leanings, analogous to the American "''New York Times'' liberal"). It started life as the ''Manchester Guardian'' in 1821, only moving to London in 1964, five years after taking "Manchester" out of the title; it's now got a reputation of being particularly London-centric. It feels very centrist sometimes in spite of its left-leaning reputation; it doesn't support [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem Labour or the Whigs (currently the Liberal Democrats)]] so much as it opposes the Tories, and it has been critical of far-left governments in Latin America and Eastern Europe, basically following the British government stance there. This leads to the accusation that they actually just tend to adopt any position that will best enable them to get away with adopting a tone of condescending self-righteousness. The paper is also known for its anti-monarchist stance; its web portal even offers a "republican edition" when the [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily Royals]] are the topic of the day.\\\

Politics aside, the paper is unique in that its parent company, the Guardian Media Group, is owned by a trust which exists to ensure its editorial independence, and its actual reporting, op-eds is aside, is considered to be very good. That said, it seems to be willing to pick fights with practically every other major newspaper, from the traditionally conservative ''Daily Telegraph'' to more hardcore left-wing ''Daily Mirror''. It's also infamous for supporting candidates who lose in embarrassing fashion, in the UK and outside it; it once got into hot water for suggesting that its readers ring up random Americans to tell them not to vote for UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush in 2004. Elsewhere in the paper, it has a very highly regarded crossword, which enthusiasts say might be even better than that of the ''Times''.\\\

The ''Guardian'' is the UK's biggest left-leaning paper. It's often called the "Grauniad", a result of its former reputation for [[TyopOnTheCover frequent typos]], and its readers are often called "Guardianistas" (particularly as a derogatory comment on their political leanings, analogous to the American "''New York Times'' liberal"). It started life as the ''Manchester Guardian'' in 1821, only moving to London in 1964, five years after taking "Manchester" out of the title; it's now got a reputation of being particularly London-centric. It feels very centrist sometimes in spite of its left-leaning reputation; it doesn't support [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem Labour or the Whigs (currently the Liberal Democrats)]] so much as it opposes the Tories, and it has been critical of far-left governments in Latin America and Eastern Europe, basically following the British government stance there. This leads to the accusation that they actually just tend to adopt any position that will best enable them to get away with a tone of slightly condescending self-righteousness. The paper is also known for its anti-monarchist stance; its web portal even offers a "republican edition" when the [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily Royals]] are the topic of the day.\\\

Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} made a splash by making the ''Mail'' its first [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Deprecated_sources deprecated source]], meaning it cannot be used for citations unless the article is about the paper itself, and there's an auto-sweeper that will give you a warning if you ''try'' to link to it. There are barely 30 such sources, and although the ''Sun'' and ''News of the World'' are also on that list, so are infamous "fake news" websites like Infowars, which should tell you the extent of the ''Mail'''s poor reputation. Wikipedia's decision on the ''Mail'' became a landmark for the site, and it also spurred other venues to do similar things (such as Virgin Trains briefly pulling it from its shops). The ''Mail'' responded by posting an article smearing a Wikipedia admin, to barely any effect.\\\

''Private Eye'' is a fortnightly satirical magazine edited by Ian Hislop of ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' fame. Its investigative journalism is better than that of most of the proper papers, with the twin results of breaking many scandals earlier than anyone else, and being the subject of countless libel suits -- Hislop frequently publishes the letters threatening legal action, and he occasionally describes himself as "the most-sued man in British legal history". It's also responsible for many of the nicknames for the other papers you see here. As a self-appointed watchdog and frequent commenter on the rest of the British press and the tropes they use, it's no wonder you see them cited on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki more than any of the real papers.\\\

It's also rather provincial in its coverage, reporting on severe British weather phenomena at the expense of other more newsworthy stories, and hating the European Union with a passion (Diana ''died'' over there!).\\\

[[Music/BlocParty Says the enemy's among us]], [[WaxingLyrical taking our women and taking our jobs]]. The ''Daily Mail'', founded in 1896, is ultra-right-wing, reactionary, eurosceptic, xenophobic, isolationist, often [[YouCanPanicNow hysterical]], and notoriously obsessed with immigration, house prices, same-sex marriage, and claimants of state benefits.\\\

But one cannot talk about the ''Sun'' without discussing its single most infamous piece of reporting, on the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, a stampede at a football match that killed 97 Liverpool FC supporters. All official reports suggest that it was caused by horrendous crowd control and poor policing, including an assumption that victims trying to escape the crush toward the field were [[FootballHooligans hooligans]] trying to rush the pitch. The ''Sun'', on the other hand (with the infamous headline "[-THE TRUTH-]") straight up put the blame on the Liverpool fans, saying with [[BlatantLies no evidence or justification]] that they started the stampede, attacked first responders, and looted and desecrated corpses (and by 'desecrated', we mean 'were accused of urinating on them').\\\

What followed was such an intense backlash that the ''Sun'', at the time the best-selling paper in Liverpool, to this day cannot be obtained in the city. No one will carry it, no one will buy it, no one can even give it away[[note]]Liverpudlian comedian Alexei Sayle tried, suggesting it could be used as toilet paper -- one man said he'd rather use a rusty poker[[/note]]. Not Liverpool supporters, not people who don't care about football, not fans of Liverpool's bitter rivals Everton FC[[note]]Admittedly, the two clubs have a very weird relationship -- their stadiums are just blocks away from each other, so it's not a strictly geographic rivalry, and many families in Liverpool have fans of both teams. One of the best characterisations of it is based on the latter; it's essentially a family feud, with all the viciousness that implies, but when faced with an outside threat/serious tragedy, both sides will seamlessly pull together. In any event, Everton fans have their own reasons to hate the ''Sun'', especially after a different article in 2017 - an op-ed by [=MacKenzie=] - which compared one of its mixed race players, Ross Barkley, to a gorilla.[[/note]], nobody.\\\

* '''''Magazine/TheSpectator''''' is a right-wing weekly news magazine, which dates back to the nineteenth century (although it sometimes naughtily claims descent from [[Magazine/TheSpectator a famous unconnected early magazine of the same title from the eighteenth century]]). It's now owned by the Telegraph Group. It's generally open to all strains of right-wing thought, from the libertarian to the neo-conservative to the old-school up-the-aristocracy, and editing the magazine gets you a lot of cred in the Conservative Party (''e.g.'' UsefulNotes/BorisJohnson). It likes to criticize PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad. It is perhaps the last holdout of the [[GrumpyOldMan "old fogey"]] who hates modern music (especially this scruffy rock 'n' roll thing) and these awful films. It has weekly features on classical music, opera, theatre, and poetry, contrasted with minimal token coverage of everything else. That said, they also have more liberal contributors like Nick Cohen in the mix. It also has American and Australian editions.

* "[-BORING OLD GITS TO WED-]", referring to Prince Charles' engagement to Camilla Parker-Bowles. ActuallyPrettyFunny if you don't care about gossip at all.

The ''Financial Times'' is a business and economics broadsheet. Large chunks of it are mostly incomprehensible to anyone not working in management, and it's such a by-word for "important business stuff" that it [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff sells more copies outside of Britain than within it]] - however, the parts of it that aren't managerial/business jargon are considered to be some of the best reporting around. It's also known as "the Pink 'Un" because it's printed on pink paper; this started in 1893 as a cost-saving measure, but it now gives the paper an air of distinctiveness (and also makes it harder to photocopy). Even the online version has a pink background.

* The ''Morning Star'' is nominally affiliated with the British Communist Party (well, whichever one still exists); however, it aims for a broader audience than the radical left. It was formerly known as ''The Daily Worker'' and jumped ship from a previous Communist Party right as it collapsed during TheGreatPoliticsMessUp. It's one of the few daily Communist papers, and it's got the highest circulation among them -- which isn't saying much.

But one cannot talk about the ''Sun'' without discussing its single most infamous piece of reporting, on the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, a stampede at a football match that killed 96 Liverpool FC supporters. All official reports suggest that it was caused by horrendous crowd control and poor policing, including an assumption that victims trying to escape the crush toward the field were [[FootballHooligans hooligans]] trying to rush the pitch. The ''Sun'', on the other hand (with the infamous headline "[-THE TRUTH-]") straight up put the blame on the Liverpool fans, saying with [[BlatantLies no evidence or justification]] that they started the stampede, attacked first responders, and looted and desecrated corpses (and by 'desecrated', we mean 'were accused of urinating on them'). What followed was such an intense backlash that the ''Sun'', at the time the best-selling paper in Liverpool, to this day cannot be obtained in the city. No one will carry it, no one will buy it, no one can even give it away[[note]]Liverpudlian comedian Alexei Sayle tried, suggesting it could be used as toilet paper -- one man said he'd rather use a rusty poker[[/note]]. Not Liverpool supporters, not people who don't care about football, not fans of Liverpool's bitter rivals Everton FC[[note]]Admittedly, the two clubs have a very weird relationship -- their stadiums are just blocks away from each other, so it's not a strictly geographic rivalry, and many families in Liverpool have fans of both teams. In any event, Everton fans have their own reasons to hate the ''Sun'', especially after a different article in 2017 - an op-ed by [=MacKenzie=] - which compared one of its mixed race players, Ross Barkley, to a gorilla.[[/note]], nobody.\\\

The Hillsborough reporting is a huge part of the ''Sun''[='=]s character because it shows just how loathsome its editor Kelvin [=MacKenzie=] was. The story was his brainchild; other journalists in the ''Sun'' could see the response coming, but [=MacKenzie=] was such a newsroom tyrant that no one could talk him down. Not even Rupert Murdoch could fully leash him, as [=MacKenzie=] retracted his apology for the reporting and blamed Murdoch for pressuring him into making it. Even decades later, when the final report on the disaster was issued in 2016 and finally, definitively exposed the ''Sun''[='=]s reporting as a great big lie, [=MacKenzie=] wouldn't back down (and forbade any coverage on the inquiry other than a brief wire report). Liverpool FC responded by formally banning all ''Sun'' journalists from club facilities '''''forever''''' (Everon did the same shortly thereafter, in response to the 2017 'gorilla' article, also by [=MacKenzie=]). They even ''doubled down'' in 2019 when the FA approached them about Anfield (Liverpool's 54,000 capacity stadium) hosting warm-up games for Euro 2020, something that could only be done on the condition that the ''Sun'' was allowed journalists on site. The response was broadly summarised as "go fuck yourself" and a restatement of the ban. Normally, this would be a total affront to press freedom and availability in sports, but it went totally unquestioned by the rest of the world - and was even praised in a number of quarters. That's how bad it was. Recently, Arsenal FC has become another of the paper's enemies after the tabloid published a piece implying that a big chunk of its followers were Muslim terrorists after the suspect of a bombing attempt was spotted wearing an Arsenal jersey. Fans called for a ban on the ''Sun'', but it didn't seem to go anywhere, yet the paper is still held in contempt by many Gooners.\\\

It was also the home of cartoon strips including ''ComicStrip/GeorgeAndLynne'', which also regularly featured topless women in its cartoons. This was dropped in 2010 and now the paper does not run any comic strips. It remains the home of “Dear Deidre”, the UK’s best known AgonyAunt.

The ''Mail on Sunday'' is the Sunday sister paper to the ''Daily Mail'', founded in 1982. While still staunchly conservative, it's also far less alarmist than the ''Mail'', far more credible, and far less reactionary (in 1983 even endorsing the Social Democrats, a Labour Party splinter group that's a predecessor to the modern Liberal Democrats). This makes it a paper of choice for conservatives who don't like hysteria. However, its journalists and columnists include staunchly Anglican conservative (and enemy of television) Peter Hitchens, brother of the famous atheist/antitheist Creator/ChristopherHitchens, who regularly bashes the Conservative Party for [[NoTrueScotsman not being right-wing enough]].

Just for completeness: ''Today'' was a newspaper which ran for less than a decade (1986-95). It started off as somewhat left-wing -- it printed the original run of Sue Townsend's ''Secret Diary of [[UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher Margaret Hilda Roberts]] Age 13¾'' and had future New Labour spin-doctor Alistair Campbell as political editor. After about a year of that, it was sold to Murdoch and got "Rommel" Montgomery as editor (famous for his work with the ''Mirror''), and it became extremely Thatcherite indeed, to the point it was nicknamed ''Toady''. What it's mostly remembered for, though, is being the UK's first full-colour newspaper, and usually looking terrible in the process. A few TV history nerds might also recall it as the paper that employed Mattie Storin in the original ''[[Series/HouseOfCardsUK House of Cards]]''

Just for completeness: ''Today'' was a newspaper which ran for less than a decade (1986-95). It started off as somewhat left-wing -- it printed the original run of Sue Townsend's ''Secret Diary of [[UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher Margaret Hilda Roberts]] Age 13¾'' and had future New Labour spin-doctor Alistair Campbell as political editor. After about a year of that, it was sold to Murdoch and got "Rommel" Montgomery as editor (famous for his work with the ''Mirror''), and it became extremely Thatcherite indeed, to the point it was nicknamed ''Toady''. What it's mostly remembered for, though, is being the UK's first full-colour newspaper, and usually looking terrible in the process.

* '''''The National''''' is a more recent newspaper, established in late 2014 as a pro-independence newspaper. It began as a sister paper to the ''Herald'' and ''Sunday Herald'', and was quite clearly modelled after the latter in terms of both presentation and editorial stance. Since taking on a life of its own, it has adopted a seemingly paradoxical combination of left-wing idealism and the kind of "us and them" nationalism espoused by the more right-wing publications. In line with most things in post-referendum Scotland, the response has been ... mixed, if Scottish social media is anything to go by. It’s drawn some controversy over the fact that it presents itself as a pro-independence perspective rather than an unbiased source of news, which has led ''Magazine/PrivateEye'' to dismiss it as an "SNP fanzine". Other notable quirks include its mocking front pages (often involving Photoshop of varying quality, eventually dropped in favour of a more mainstream tabloid style), its columnists' tendency to dabble in MeaninglessMeaningfulWords, a curious preoccupation with the mysterious death of Willie [=MacRae=], and its pursuit of what can only be described as a minor vendetta against television presenter and archaeologist Neil Oliver (presumably for his criticism of nationalism and dislike of the SNP). It's nicknamed "The Nat Onal" for its LuckyCharmsTitle.

Before 1971, when it absorved the tabloid ''Daily Sketch'' (founded 1909), it was a right-wing broadsheet, and was taken more seriously. Most of the populist elements of today's ''Daily Mail'' come from the ''Sketch''.

[[Music/BlocParty Says the enemy's among us]], [[WaxingLyrical taking our women and taking our jobs]]. The ''Daily Mail'', founded in 1896, is ultra-right-wing, absolutist, eurosceptic, xenophobic, isolationist, often [[YouCanPanicNow hysterical]], and notoriously obsessed with immigration, house prices, same-sex marriage, and claimants of state benefits.\\\

It's got a very right-wing bent, but it ironically started as the ''Daily Herald'', a genuinely pro-Labour broadsheet aimed at "political radicals" and owned by trade unions. After a decline during the post-war period, it was bought by International Publishing Corporation (owners of the left-wing ''Daily Mirror'') and managed to maintain its profile. But then came a market study suggesting an intense demographic shift, and in 1964, it transformed into the ''Sun'', aiming for not just political but also "social radicals" in the middle class. This didn't exactly work out, and in 1969 it was purchased by UsefulNotes/RupertMurdoch, who turned it into the modern-day tabloid seen today and still maintains a firm grip on it.\\\

Note that in spite of dealing with a rather different [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem political system]] from the United States, the comment sections of all these newspapers' websites are populated by pretty much the same sort of OnlinePersonas as American comment sections. So if you were expecting [[QuintessentialBritishGentleman the British stereotype]] [[StiffUpperLip of restraint and civility]], prepare to be disappointed.

-->-- Spoof ''Catholic Herald'' headline by '''Chris Morris'''

It has historically been a heavy journalistic hitter; in 1908, it published an interview in which Kaiser Wilhelm [[IsThisThingStillOn ran his mouth off a bit]], which had a hand in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Telegraph_Affair#Daily_Telegraph_affair bringing down the Chancellor of the German Empire]], and it was also the first paper to report from Poland on the outbreak of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. These days, though, it seems to be defined by its conservative stance and its unintentionally hilarious [[TheRival rivalry]] with the left-leaning ''Guardian''. Its other nickname, the "Daily Hurleygraph", derives from its odd obsession with Liz Hurley (and its recent fascination with "fruity girls" in general). Not that they don't make scoops anymore; the paper broke the 2009 MP expenses scandal and a 2016 investigation on tactics used by England footy manager Sam Allardyce, who was then dismissed.\\\

* '''''The National''''' is a more recent newspaper, established in late 2014 as a pro-independence newspaper. It began as a sister paper to the ''Herald'' and ''Sunday Herald'', and was quite clearly modelled after the latter in terms of both presentation and editorial stance. Since taking on a life of its own, it has adopted a seemingly paradoxical combination of left-wing idealism and the kind of "us and them" nationalism espoused by the more right-wing publications. In line with most things in post-referendum Scotland, the response has been ... mixed, if Scottish social media is anything to go by. It’s drawn some controversy over the fact that it presents itself as a pro-independence perspective rather than an unbiased source of news, which has led ''Magazine/PrivateEye'' to dismiss it as an "SNP fanzine". Other notable quirks include its mocking front pages (often involving Photoshop of varying quality, eventually dropped in favour of a more mainstream tabloid style), its columnists' tendency to dabble in MeaninglessMeaningfulWords, a curious preoccupation with the mysterious death of Willie [=MacRae=], and its pursuit of what can only be described as a minor vendetta against television presenter and archaeologist Neil Oliver (presumably for his criticism of nationalism). It's nicknamed "The Nat Onal" for its LuckyCharmsTitle.

The ''Daily Express'', founded in 1900, is known for two things; being previously owned by a former porn baron (hence the nickname "the Daily Sexpress") and its obsession with Princess Diana and her death (hence the nickname "the Di-ly Express").\\\