The Press in Britain

It has been said that the British read more newspapers than any other people in the western world. More than thirty million copies of newspapers are printed in the country every day.

National newspapers are sold throughout the United Kingdom. They all have their head offices in London. Some papers aim to inform their readers as widely as possible about national and international news. Other papers try to attract more general readers, with pictures and sensational stories. The News of the World has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Britain.

There are many provincial daily, evening and weekly newspapers published in cities and smaller towns. They present local news and are supported by local advertisements. Many big cities have evening papers which give the latest news. London has two.

There are nearly five thousand periodicals published in the United Kingdom. Of these, women's magazines have the largest circula­tions. There are magazines and periodicals for almost every trade, profession, sport, hobby or interest. Special magazines and newspapers are published for young people. Very popular among them is Just Seventeen magazine and the newspaper Early Times.

Writing to the newspapers and magazines is a popular pastime for many people. Many-letters are answered. The most interesting are published. People often read the letters before the main news, and the letters do have an influence,

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Look quickly at the text about British newspapers. How many newspapers does it describe?

British people like their newspapers.

About 70 per cent of British people read a national newspaper every day and many also read a local newspaper. There are two main types of daily newspaper in Britain. The 'broadsheets' contain national and international news, and pages on topics such as money, the arts and travel. These are the four daily broadsheets:

The Times is very old - it started in 1785. It sells about 680,000 copies a day and it costs 50 pence.

The Guardian started in 1821, in Manchester. (Most newspapers started in London.) It sells about 325,000 copies a day and it costs 55 pence.

The Daily Telegraph sells more copies than the others — about 975,000 a day, and it costs 60 pence. It started in 1855.

The Independent only began in 1986. It sells about 205,000 copies a day and it costs 60 pence.

'Tabloids' contain national news but not a lot of international news, and they have a lot of pages on sport and the lives of famous people. The tabloids are more popular than the broadsheets.

The Daily Mail started in 1896 and it sells about 2,422,000 copies a day now. It costs 40 pence.

The Daily Express started in 1900. It sells about 878,000 copies a day and costs 40 pence.

The Daily Mirror started in 1903. It costs 35 pence and sells about 2,200,000 copies a day.

The Sun is quite new — it started in 1964 — but it is really popular. It sells about 3,452,000 copies a day. It costs 30 pence.

Answer the questions:

How do you know that newspapers are popular in Britain?

Because about 70 per cent of people read a newspaper every day.

1 What are the two types of newspaper?

2 Which type of newspaper has more news?

3 Which type of newspaper is more popular in Britain?

Complete the table with information from the text.

Use the table to compare the newspapers.

The Daily Mirror /The Sun /old

The Daily Mirror is older than The Sun.

The Independent / The Daily Telegraph / popular

The Daily Telegraph is more popular than The Independent.

1 The Times / The Sun / cheap

2 The Guardian / The Daily Mail j expensive

3 The Daily Express / The Independent / new

4 The Daily Telegraph / The Daily Express / popular

5 The Daily Mail / The Guardian / old

6 The Daily Mirror f The Independent / cheap

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Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1948