THE BRITISH MEDIA

Division of Media
• The TERM ‘MEDIA’ MAY INCLUDE any
communication system by which people are
informed, educated or entertained.

• In Britain it generally refers to

broadcasting (terrestrial or earth-based

the print industries (the press or
television, cable and satellite television,
newspapers and magazines)
radio and video).
• Over the years, the British media have evolved
from simple methods of production,
distribution and communication to their
present sophisticated technologies.

• Media growth and variety have greatly

influenced people’s daily life and improved
information dispersal, news availability and
entertainment opportunities
• Television viewing is Britain’s most popular
pastime.
• Surveys indicate that 69% of Britons obtain
their daily news from television, 20% from
newspapers and 11% from radio
 PRINT MEDIA
• It began to develop in the 19th century,
however, a wide circulation was hindered by
transportation and distribution problems
along with illiteracy and censorship
restrictions.
• Over the last 100 years, an expanded
educational system along with the abolition of
government control and new print inventions
helped to create free print media in UK.
 THE DIVISION OF PRINT MEDIA
British Newspapers

Sunday «The Tabloids

Daily Morning Evening Sunday Times «Daily Mirror
» »

National Regional

❑Some 50% of people over 15 read a national daily paper and 70% read a national
Sunday newspaper.
❑National newspapers have sales of 13.5 million on weekdays, and 14.8 million on
Sundays.
 National Newspapers
They are mostly published from London and are
available in all parts of Britain on the same day,
including Sundays.
Many are delivered direct to the home from local
newsagents by newsboys and girls.
The good internal distribution systems of a
compact country enabled a national press to
develop, and internet online copies now offer
updated and immediate availability.
Newspapers in Britain are privately owned and
editors of the papers are usually allowed freedom
of expression.
18th century
The first British newspapers with a limited
national circulation appeared in the early 18th
century ‘The Daily Courant’ (1702) and were
followed by others, such as The Times (1785),
the Observer (1791) and the Sunday Times
(1822).
But most were so-called ‘quality’ papers,
catering for a relatively small, educated
market.
19th century
The 19th C saw a lot of growth for the British
newspaper industry.
The growth of the population conditioned the
types of newspaper which were produced in the
nation.
The first popular national papers were
deliberately printed on Sundays, such as the News
of the World (1843) and the People (1881).
[inexpensive and aimed at the expanding and
increasingly literate working class]
 Was targeted at the
lower-middle class as an
the Daily Mail (1896)
alternative to the
‘quality’ dailies.

Alfred Harmsworth

for the working-class

popular market.
the Daily Mirror (1903) (the largest-selling
national daily in the
early twentieth century)

Both the Mail and the Mirror were soon selling more
than a million copies a day. (Populars press)
20th Century
The early twentieth century was the era of
mass-circulation papers.
There was fierce competition between two
owners (Harmsworth and Arthur Pearson) as
they fought for bigger shares of the market.
In 1900, Pearson created Morning Herald
(later the Daily Express) to compete with the
Daily Mail (1896)for lower-middle-class
readers.
The Daily Mirror was the largest-selling
national daily in the early twentieth century. It
supported the Labour Party and was designed
for quick and easy reading by the industrial
and increasingly politicized working class.
The Daily Herald (1911) also supported the
Labour Party, until it was sold in 1964,
renamed the Sun and developed different
political and new emphasis.
The competition between Mirror and Sun continue
today, with each aiming for a bigger share of the mass
daily market.
 SUCESS
• The success of the early popular press was due
to;
- growing literacy (a desire for knowledge and
information by the working class)
-political awareness (among workers caused by
the rise of the Labour Party).
• By 1920, the circulation of national papers rose
rapidly, with 5.5 million daily sales.(increased to
17 million by 1973)
• Since 1970’s, there has been a decline in sales and in the
number of national and other newspapers due to competition
from other forms of media (radio, films and television).
Thanks to new technologies journalists’ ‘copy’ could be
printed directly through computers, without having to use the
intermediate ‘hotmetal’ typesetting by printers.
 National Newspapers
National papers are usually termed ‘quality’ or ‘popular’
depending on their differences in content and format

Qualities or Heavies Populars or Yellow Press

Dailies Sundays Dailies Sundays
-The Daily -The Sunday -The Sun (1964) -The Sunday Mirror
Telegraph (1855) Telegraph (1961) -The Daily Mirror (1963)
-The Guardian -The Observer (1903) -The Mail on
(1821) (1791) - The Daily Mail Sunday( 1982)
-The Times (1785) -The Sunday Times (1896) -The Sunday
-The Independent (1822) -The Daily Express Express (1918)
(1986) - Independent (1900) -The people (1881)
-The Financial Sunday (1990) -The Daily Star -The News of World
Times(1888) (1978) (1843)

Report National and International Deal with relatively few ‘hard

News news’ stories.
❑ The press is dependent for its survival upon
1. circulation figures;
2. upon the advertising that it can attract;
3. and upon financial help from its owners.
❑ A number of news papers in the twentieth
century ceased publication because of
1. Reduced circulation
2. loss of advertising revenue
3. refusals of further financial aid
4. or a combination of all three factors.
 REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS
• Some 1,300 regional newspapers are published in
towns and cities throughout Britain.
• They contain a mixture of local and national news;
are supported financially by regional advertising;
and may be daily morning or evening papers,
Sundays or weekly.
• There are hundreds of regional and local weeklies,
dailies and evening papers which appear in the
England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
(for famous newspaper see p220)
 PERIODICALS AND MAGAZINES
• There are 9,000 different periodicals and
magazines in Britain, which are of a weekly,
monthly or quarterly nature
• They are dependent upon sales and
advertising to survive.
• They cover sports, trades, professions and
business, hobbies and interests.
• Famous periodicals are; Take a Break,
Woman, Woman’s Own, Private Eye, Radio
Times and What’s on TV.
 • Other magazines cover interests such as computers,
rural pastimes, gardening, railways, cooking,
architecture, do-it-yourself skills and sports.
• Among the serious weekly journals are:
1. The New Statesman and Society (a left-wing political
and social affairs magazine);
2. The Economist (dealing with economic and political
matters);
3. The Spectator (a conservative journal);
4. New Scientist.
5. The Times publishes influential weekly magazines,
such as the Educational Supplement, the Higher
(Education Supplement) and the Literary
Supplement.
Thank you