National newspapers

THE PRESS

In this unit, you are going to study the situation with the British press nowadays. It is composed of several texts followed by questions to check your understanding of given information. After these texts, you will find a set of follow-up exercises based on the unit vocabulary.

When reading, pay special attention to collocations and sentences in blue and green ink: they are to be studied, translated, learnt and used in follow-up exercises and class discussions.

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Read the text explaining the highlighted words and combinations, then answer the questions:

National newspapers

National newspapers cater for a wealth of tastes and interests. They are often described as either 'qualities' or 'tabloids', depending on their format, style and content. Quality newspapers – broadsheet in format – cater for readers who want detailed information on a wide range of news and current affairs. Tabloid papers tend to appeal to those who want to read shorter, entertaining (and occasionally bizarre) stories with more human interest, and they generally contain a larger number of pictures. That said, the tabloids play an influential role in guiding public opinion.

All newspapers are now printed at least partly in colour. At the weekend, most produce colour supplements and separate sections with features on anything and everything from leisure activities, travel, books, food and wine to in-depth news analysis and financial matters. This trend towards providing information on specific subjects has even led to the launch in 1998 of two new Sunday newspapers that deal exclusively with business (Sunday Business) and sport (Sport First).

While newspapers are almost always financially independent of any political party, they often express pronounced views and show obvious political leanings in their editorial comments that may derive from proprietorial and other non-party influences. (In the June 2001 General Election, for example, most newspapers made it clear to their readerships who they thought they should vote for.)

At one time, London’s Fleet Street was the centre of the newspaper industry, but now all the national newspapers have moved their editorial offices and printing plants to other parts of the capital – many to Docklands, a regenerated area to the east of the city. Some national newspapers, notably The Guardian (which has strong historical links with the city of Manchester), have begun to build up their regional presence.

Unlike most of the rest of Europe, the UK press receives no subsidies and relatively few tax and postal concessions. Newspaper profits are taxed at the standard corporation rate. The income of most newspapers and periodicals derives mainly from sales to readers and from advertising – indeed, the press is the largest advertising medium in the UK.

Ownership of the national press lies in the hands of a number of large corporations, most of which are also involved in other parts of the publishing or communications sectors. Some have stakes in independent television and radio companies (although legislation is in place to safeguard against the risks arising from an over-concentration of media cross-ownership, its restrictions have been relaxed considerably over the past decade). The most prominent company, News International, controls about 35 per cent of the national press (by copy sales), while Trinity Mirror owns about 19 per cent, Daily Mail & General Trust 19 per cent, Northern & Shell 11 per cent, Telegraph Group 8 per cent, Guardian Media Group 3 per cent, Pearson 3 per cent and Independent News & Media about 1 per cent.

Of the individual newspaper titles, The Times is perhaps the best known. It is the oldest surviving national daily paper, dating from 1785, and has enjoyed worldwide influence and authority throughout its history. Like its competitors in the broadsheet market, it offers comprehensive coverage of important home, overseas and business news, the law, politics, sport, science and the arts. The top-selling quality daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, has a broadly-based readership in terms of sex, age and geography and is rather conservative in political direction. The Guardian, with a relatively small circulation, has traditionally been more liberal in outlook. The Independent, the most recent surviving addition to the quality market, devotes more coverage to international news than its competitors. The Financial Times is the principal paper for business and financial coverage and has a considerable and expanding international readership (in 2000, it extended its influence by launching a dedicated local edition for the German market).

The mid-market tabloid press includes The Daily Mail and The Daily Express (and their Sunday equivalents). The Mail sells around 2.4 million copies a day. Its historic rival the Express has been declining, and now sells just 960,000 copies a day. A third mid-market title, Today (established in 1986, and a pioneer of new production technology in the national press) was closed down by its owner, News International, in November 1995.

The popular tabloids include The Sun and The Daily Mirror, which have the highest circulations among the daily national newspapers as a whole, and The Daily Star, which is a smaller competitor.

The Sunday Times enjoys the strongest circulation among the quality Sunday national press – although The Observer, established in 1791, has the oldest pedigree. Both newspapers have extensive news, business, sport and review sections, together with colour magazine supplements. The Sunday Telegraph is similar in appeal to The Daily Telegraph. The Independent on Sunday has the lowest circulation of the quality Sunday press. The News of the World, a popular Sunday tabloid, enjoys the distinction of selling more copies than any other newspaper in the UK – nearly 4 million each week. Its closest popular rivals are The Sunday Mirror and The People.

Questions:

1. What is the average total daily circulation of newspapers in the UK? How large is their overall readership? Are these numbers bigger than in our country?
2. What are the recent trends in newspaper publishing mentioned in this text?

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1. In what way is the British press different from such businesses in other European countries? In your opinion, how does it influence its development?
2. Who owns the national press of Great Britain? Name some major corporations owning largest parts of this business. How is media ownership regulated in the UK?
3. Speaking about individual newspaper titles, which of the mentioned above…

a) …is the oldest surviving national daily newspaper? Is it tabloid or broadsheet?

b) …is the most recent surviving edition to the quality market?

c) …is the top-selling quality daily newspaper?

d) …is the principal paper for business and financial coverage?

e) …is expanding international readership? In what way?

f) …are the most popular national tabloids?

g) …was a pioneer of new production technology in the national press?

h) …are the best sold quality Sundays?

i) …is the worst sold broadsheet Sunday paper?

j) …are the most popular Sunday tabloids?

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Read the text explaining the highlighted words and combinations, then solve the true/false problem in the statements given after it:

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1596