# How reliable is the Express (British paper)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2023, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945 "2023-08-23T02:21:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/1 "2023-08-23T02:21:11Z")
From the Ukraine Thread, I’ve got a question. @aceplace57 posted a quote from the _Express_, a British paper. Later on, I posted a question: > [@Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/5516): > > About that article — I see it’s from the Express. Any time I’ve browsed it I’ve had the impression it was pretty sensationalistic. Is that an accurate impression? @EddyTeddyFreddy followed up with: > [@Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/5517): > > I was wondering about the accuracy also. The person being quoted is described as a fierce Putin critic, which suggests a certain degree of bias in his interpretation of what he’s allegedly being told. Then I posted: > [@Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/5518): > > Well, I notice that the lead story on the side bar is: > > **Siberian tiger waits 12 hours to kill two men in vicious revenger spree** > > Sounds like responsible journalism to me. Then @What_Exit said that the tiger was straying too far from the Ukraine base. So following mod instructions, I’ve come here, to IMHO, to start a new thread. What sort of reputation does the _Express_ have as a news source? Reliable? Sensationalistic? First to press, but accurate? Comments welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/2 "2023-08-23T03:06:33Z")
Wikipedia describes it as a [middle-market newspaper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-market_newspaper), which it defines as follows: > [@](#): > > A middle-market newspaper is a newspaper that caters to readers who like entertainment as well as the coverage of important news events. Middle-market status is the halfway point of a three-level continuum of journalistic seriousness; upper-market or “quality” newspapers generally cover hard news, and down-market newspapers favour sensationalist stories. > > In the United Kingdom, since the discontinuation of _Today_ (1986–1995), the only national middle-market papers are the _Daily Mail_ and the _Daily Express_, distinguishable by their black-top masthead (both use the tabloid paper size), as opposed to the red-top mastheads of down-market tabloids. _USA Today_ and the _Times of India_ are other typical middle-market broadsheet newspapers, headquartered in the United States and India, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/3 "2023-08-23T03:51:42Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > _USA Today_ and the _Times of India_ are other typical middle-market broadsheet newspapers Thank you. That’s helping put it in context for me. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/4 "2023-08-23T07:09:16Z")
From the wiki article on the Express, they’re apparently owned by the same company as the Mirror, so make of that what you will. Personally, I learned almost everything I know about British newspapers from _Yes, Minister_. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DGscoaUWW2M/hqdefault.jpg "Who reads the papers? - Yes, Prime Minister - BBC comedy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGscoaUWW2M) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/5 "2023-08-23T07:59:08Z")
The Express is a sensationalist, right wing rag, catering to people who think all our problems are down to the EU and immigrants. It’s not a paper to be taken seriously on any level, except for the damage it adds to our public discourse. Think of it as the downmarket version of the Daily Mail, if you can imagine such a horror story. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/6 "2023-08-23T08:09:10Z")
That is a very generous view of the Express. Maybe once upon a time it might have been a middling sort of news source, but I can’t remember when that might have been. For the record, whilst it revolts me that our press is so dominated by right wing Brexiteers, I don’t feel quite as much disgust for, say, The Times, even though it’s owned by Murdoch and peddles similar stories. It at least tries to factcheck occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/7 "2023-08-23T08:23:42Z")
The Express is also known for its unhealthy obsession with Princess Diana, publishing stories about her virtually daily before and long after her death. It was just creepy (although not as creepy as Piers Morgan’s obsession with Meghan Markle). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/8 "2023-08-23T08:56:01Z")
Indeed. And they seem to run daily articles side by side, about how awful Meghan is and how plucky Kate is. There’s a classic example on today’s cover. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/9 "2023-08-23T10:49:14Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > From the Ukraine Thread, I’ve got a question. > > @aceplace57 posted a quote from the _Express_, a British paper. I didn’t post that link or comment on it. @Casparlatete did. It claims 80% losses in Russian units. I haven’t seen that attrition reported anywhere else. The British press does focus more on the war. They often are the best source for war news. I usually link to The Guardian or BBC News. Google may have lead me to the Daily Express. It’s not a web site that I normally read. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/10 "2023-08-23T11:25:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Personally, I learned almost everything I know about British newspapers from _Yes, Minister_. This is still a fair summary 35 or so years on.\* > [@SanVito](#): > > The Express is a sensationalist, right wing rag, catering to people who think all our problems are down to the EU and immigrants. It’s not a paper to be taken seriously on any level, except for the damage it adds to our public discourse. > > Think of it as the downmarket version of the Daily Mail, if you can imagine such a horror story. I completely agree with the above. If they are occasionally accurate, it’s probably by accident. The Express (a right-wing rag) is indeed owned by the same company as the Mirror (a left-wing rag). It may be their content will converge over time, but I don’t think it’s happened much yet (except probably in non-political areas such as Sport). \*ETA: The Sun no longer features topless women on page 3, so there has been a tiny amount of progress. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/11 "2023-08-23T12:56:13Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I didn’t post that link or comment on it. @Casparlatete did. Quite right. Sorry for the misattribution. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/12 "2023-08-23T13:11:47Z")
It is about as reliable for news as the _Toronto Sun_. Like that paper, it has mostly conservative opinion columns, a paucity of big words, some degree of sensationalism, ample celebrity and sports news and sometimes a populist, right-wing, traditional tilt. I would deem its news reasonably reliable but concise and so simplified. Its news is more reliable than its editorials. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/13 "2023-08-23T13:27:34Z")
I just counted _14_ stories dealing with royals or ex-royals on the Express website’s “front page”. There must still be a thriving market for that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/14 "2023-08-23T13:31:57Z")
Being careful here not to reveal myself and risk possible industry retribution, I worked briefly for a company owned by the same people who ran the Express, and housed in the same building. It was a wing of the media business. It was by the far the worst culture I’ve ever worked in - the management (all male) would hug the female staff inappropriately and issue directives down the chains without understanding what was going on. At one point one of the execs walked past a work experience boy who had the temerity to be eating crisps (potato chips) at his desk and attempted to fire him on the spot. Disgusting people running a rag of a newspaper. The owner at the time BTW made his fortune in porn. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/15 "2023-08-23T15:32:59Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I just counted _14_ stories dealing with royals or ex-royals on the Express website’s “front page”. > > There must still be a thriving market for that stuff. Which tells you a lot about its readership ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/16 "2023-08-23T15:40:46Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Wikipedia describes it as a [middle-market newspaper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-market_newspaper) Wikipedia also describes it as [generally unreliable.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Perennial_sources#Daily_Express) ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/17 "2023-08-23T15:51:06Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > work experience boy Is that like an intern? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/18 "2023-08-23T16:32:21Z")
Yes. Or at least I would assume. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/19 "2023-08-23T16:40:44Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > Is that like an intern? Sort of. Schools in the UK encourage their older pupils to get experience of working at a company for a week. The school gives them the week off and it is (hopefully) at a company in an industry they are interested in. It’s typically unpaid, and the company basically shows the student around and gives them some light tasks so they get a taste of what work is like. When we get them at my company they spend each day sitting with a different department so they get a really good overview. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945/20 "2023-08-23T17:01:50Z")
The _Express_ used to aspire to being a paper of record in the days when it was owned by Lord Beaverbrook, but since his death in 1964 it has moved downmarket through a succession of owners. The _Daily Mail_ was its rival for the same audience, owned by Lord Rothermere. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-reliable-is-the-express-british-paper/988945.md?page=2)