# Are there any actual newspapers in the UK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 5, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097 "2010-06-05T22:02:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/1 "2010-06-05T22:02:33Z")
Are there any actual newspapers in the UK? I know the _Sun_, sort of, & a link to the _Mirror_ gave me hope it had more seriousness, but it looks a lot of the same. Seems like our _Maxim_ & _FHM_ started there, & it seems that UK journalism is generally that sort of insubstantial claptrap. Is it really just the _Economist_? Are there local papers worth a half-boiled egg? ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/2 "2010-06-05T22:11:12Z")
> **[UK Newspapers Online and Worldwide Newspapers in English;International News...](https://www.thebigproject.co.uk/news/)** > > Online Newspapers in he United Kingdom and Major International Newspapers on the Internet with English Versions, News International News Links/Sites/Websites Alphabetically The Sun is last on the list. There’s always a “page three” girl topless, so once you open the paper - there she is. I think that’s the main draw for Sun readers. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/3 "2010-06-05T22:17:34Z")
_The Economist_ is a a magazine. Are you seriously not seeing either _The Times_ or _The Financial Times_? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/4 "2010-06-05T22:22:21Z")
Or _The Independent_, which is what I read when I was in London? ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/5 "2010-06-05T22:38:17Z")
They’ve gone all 3D to mark the special historic edition of The Sun today. Read more: http//www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3000782/Rosies-a-glassy-lady-in-3D-Page-3-Rosie-Jones.html#ixzz0q1MDHNHU NSFW! ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/6 "2010-06-05T22:43:50Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > _The Economist_ is a a magazine. As are \*Maxim \*and _FHM_, so not sure how any of them are relevant. \*\*foolsguinea \*\*,you’re seriously forming an opinion of UK newspaper journalism based on two lads magazines? That would be like me reading the National Enquirer and judging US journalism by that, surely. Assuming this is a serious question, national newspapers in the UK fall roughly into three groups: the red top tabloids, the other tabloid-type and the (formerly all broadsheet) ‘serious’ papers. There are of course other ways of grouping them, and the following are massively sweeping generalisations. Into the first group fall the Sun, the Mirror, the Star and the Sport. Fairly simplistic in their reporting (although the writing does require a great deal of skill), usually sensationalist, very interested in Entertainment etc. Since you’ve looked at the Sun and Mirror, you’ve only touched this group so far. There are some significant differences between these two, particulalry their general political bent, but they are similar in many ways, and not prototypical of UK papers in general. The second group includes the Mail and the Express. They take themselves more seriously, the writing is usually less simplistic and they’re arguably less sensationalist. The third group includes the Independent, Times, Telegraph, Financial Times and Guardian. This is the heavyweight group, focussing more on serious news and measured reporting. Most national daily papers have a Sunday equivalent. Almost every town or city area in the country has at least a weekly free newspaper, and a good number of them will have something like a chargeable daily evening local paper too. Some notable examples: London Evening Standard, Manchester Evening News, Yorkshire Evening Post and so on. Some UK newspapers have noble histories going back more than 100 years, and though a lot of them are struggling to find a place in the new information world, newspaper reporting is very important in the UK, I’d say. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/7 "2010-06-05T23:48:03Z")
Forming an opinion of the British press based solely on the _Sun_ and the _Mirror_ is roughly equivalent to forming an opinion of the American press based entirely on the _Weekly World News_ and the _National Enquirer_. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/8 "2010-06-06T00:01:16Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Or _The Independent_, which is what I read when I was in London? Or _The Grauniad_, sometimes also known as _The Guardian_. ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/9 "2010-06-06T00:07:09Z")
Wow. Just wow… Nope, all us Brits just read the bloody Sun mate. It’s got me footy fixtures and lots of tottie. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/10 "2010-06-06T00:08:37Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Are there local papers worth a half-boiled egg? As precis’ed by the Hon Jim Hacker MP: \*\*The Daily Mirror \*\*is read by people who think they run the country **The Guardian** is read by people who think they ought to run the country **The Times** is read by people who actually do run the country the **Daily Mail** is read by the wives of the people who run the country the **Financial Times** is read by people who own the country The **Morning Star** is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country **The Daily Telegraph** is read by people who think it is **Sun** readers don’t care who runs the country, as long as she’s got big tits ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/11 "2010-06-06T10:03:48Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Forming an opinion of the British press based solely on the _Sun_ and the _Mirror_ is roughly equivalent to forming an opinion of the American press based entirely on the _Weekly World News_ and the _National Enquirer_. I think it’s harsh to put the Sun and the Mirror in that category. I would break **Charley** ’s first group into two, the mainstream tabloids that are the Sun and the Mirror, and the Star and the Sport which are basically comics for simple-minded grown-ups and largely works of fiction, like the National Enquirer. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/12 "2010-06-06T10:24:34Z")
Personally I have been a subscriber to lots of overseas newspapers for several years including The Washington Post and The New York Times but the only one, other than locals, that I read regularly is The Guardian. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/13 "2010-06-06T11:47:31Z")
“reading the National Enquirer and judging US journalism by that” And yes, people have been known to do that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/14 "2010-06-06T11:56:58Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I think it’s harsh to put the Sun and the Mirror in that category. I would break **Charley** ’s first group into two, the mainstream tabloids that are the Sun and the Mirror, and the Star and the Sport which are basically comics for simple-minded grown-ups and largely works of fiction, like the National Enquirer. Maybe, but I believe the _Enquirer_, like the _Mirror_, and perhaps the _Sun_, occasionally does do serious journalism. Was it not the _Enquirer_ that finally nailed John Edwards for his adultery? Sleazy stuff, perhaps, but real investigative reporting on a matter that, like it or not, was of genuine public interest and political significance. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/15 "2010-06-06T11:58:00Z")
> [@Shade](#): > > “reading the National Enquirer and judging US journalism by that” > > And yes, people have been known to do that 🙂 And they were quite wrong to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/16 "2010-06-06T12:08:26Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Maybe, but I believe the _Enquirer_, like the _Mirror_, and perhaps the _Sun_, occasionally does do serious journalism. Was it not the _Enquirer_ that finally nailed John Edwards for his adultery? Sleazy stuff, perhaps, but real investigative reporting on a matter that, like it or not, was of genuine public interest and political significance. I stand corrected. I guess the Enquirer is a little more like a real newspaper than I had thought, if only a little. ---
**Author:** ![BorgHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@BorgHunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BorgHunter)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/17 "2010-06-06T13:36:21Z")
> [@Shade](#): > > “reading the National Enquirer and judging US journalism by that” > > And yes, people have been known to do that 🙂 Some might also judge U.S. journalism by USA Today, which is pretty much the Daily Mail of the United States. I’m not sure which would paint us in the better light, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/18 "2010-06-06T14:24:33Z")
Or are all your papers and news organisations as biased and insular as… I don’t know, insert whichever one is worst, since that’s what you did. Or to base it on something completely unrelated, which is also what you did (with the lads’ mags), someone could suggest the name of a movie or TV series. “UK journalism” is “insubstantial claptrap”? Fucking hell. Though you pretend to be asking about newspapers, your absolute statement about journalism requires me to offer you, with no further comment, the BBC. Your statement is moronic. ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/19 "2010-06-06T18:22:45Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > Or are all your papers and news organisations as biased and insular as… I don’t know, insert whichever one is worst, since that’s what you did. Or to base it on something completely unrelated, which is also what you did (with the lads’ mags), someone could suggest the name of a movie or TV series. Kind of apoplectic with rage, there, **Teacake**? 😃 Nicely put. I did think the question was a bit rudely phrased, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097/20 "2010-06-06T20:17:51Z")
Aye, I asked rudely. Don’t whip me with a cane, guv’. > [@penultima\_thule](#): > > As precis’ed by the Hon Jim Hacker MP: > > \*\*The Daily Mirror \*\*is read by people who think they run the country > **The Guardian** is read by people who think they ought to run the country > **The Times** is read by people who actually do run the country > the **Daily Mail** is read by the wives of the people who run the country > the **Financial Times** is read by people who own the country > The **Morning Star** is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country > **The Daily Telegraph** is read by people who think it is > **Sun** readers don’t care who runs the country, as long as she’s got big tits Thanks for this. I know what to look for now. (And I thought the _Economist_ called itself a newspaper.) Now you mention it, I have seen the _Financial Times._ Sort of makes our _Wall Street Journal_ look like a midget thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-actual-newspapers-in-the-uk/542097.md?page=2)