Twelve daily newspapers and eleven Sunday-only weekly newspapers are distributed nationally in the United Kingdom. Others circulate in Scotland only and still others serve smaller areas. National daily newspapers publish every day except Sundays and 25 December. Sunday newspapers may be independent; e.g. The Observer was an independent Sunday newspaper from its founding in 1791 until it was acquired by The Guardian in 1993, but more commonly, they have the same owners as one of the daily newspapers, usually with a related name (e.g. The Times and The Sunday Times), but are editorially distinct.
UK newspapers can generally be split into two distinct categories: the more serious and intellectual newspapers, usually referred to as the broadsheets, and sometimes known collectively as the 'quality press', and others, generally known as tabloids, and collectively as the 'popular press', which have tended to focus more on celebrity coverage and human interest stories rather than political reporting or overseas news. The tabloids in turn have been divided into the more sensationalist mass market titles, or 'red tops', such as The Sun and the Daily Mirror, and the middle-market papers, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail.
Most of the broadsheets, so called because of their historically larger size, have changed in recent years to a compact format, the same size as the tabloids. The Independent and The Times were the first to do so. The Guardian moved in September 2005 to what is described as a 'Berliner' format, slightly larger than a compact. Its Sunday stablemate The Observer followed suit. Both The Guardian and The Observer now use the tabloid format, having done so since January 2018.[1] Despite these format changes, these newspapers are all still considered 'broadsheets'.
Other Sunday broadsheets, including The Sunday Times, which tend to have a large amount of supplementary sections, have kept their larger-sized format. The national Sunday titles usually have a different layout and style from their weekday sister papers, and are produced by separate journalistic and editorial staff. All the major UK newspapers currently have websites, some of which provide free access.
The Times and The Sunday Times have a paywall requiring payment on a per-day or per-month basis by non-subscribers. The Financial Times business daily also has limited access for non-subscribers. The Independent became available online only upon its last printed edition on 26 March 2016.[2] However unlike the previously mentioned newspapers, it does not require any payment to access its news content. Instead the newspaper offers extras for those wishing to sign up to a payment subscription, such as crosswords, Sudoku puzzles, weekend supplements and the ability to automatically download each daily edition to read offline. The London Economic is another example of a British digital/online only newspaper, however, unlike The Independent it has never run a print publication.
Most towns and cities in the UK have at least one local newspaper, such as the Evening Post in Bristol and The Echo in Cardiff. Local newspapers were listed in advertising guides such as the Mitchell's Press Directories.
They are not known nationally for their journalism in the way that (despite much syndication) some city-based newspapers in the USA are (e.g. The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times). An exception to this was the Manchester Guardian, which dropped the 'Manchester' from its name in 1959 and relocated its main operations to London in 1964. The Guardian Media Group produced a Mancunian paper, the Manchester Evening News, until 2010 when along with its other local newspapers in the Greater Manchester area it was sold to Trinity Mirror.
| Title | Days of publication | Circulation | Established | Editor | Owner | Political orientation | Political party support in the 2024 general election | Format | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sunday Times | Sundays | 647,622 | 1821 | Ben Taylor | News Corporation | Broadsheet | ||||
| The Times | Daily | 365,880 | 1785 | Tony Gallagher | None | Compact | ||||
| The Daily Telegraph | Daily | 317,819 | 1855 | Press Holdings (Barclay brothers) | Broadsheet | |||||
| The Sunday Telegraph | Sundays | 248,288 | 1961 | Allister Heath | ||||||
| The Observer | Sundays | 136,656 | 1791 | Paul Webster | Centre-left | Compact | ||||
| i | Daily | 131,562 | 2010 | Oliver Duff | Daily Mail and General Trust | Non-partisan | None | |||
| The Guardian | Daily | 105,134 | 1821 | Katharine Viner | Centre-left[3] [4] [5] | Labour Party | ||||
| i Weekend | Saturdays | N/A | 2017 | Oliver Duff | Daily Mail and General Trust | None | ||||
| The Independent | N/A | 1986 | Geordie Greig | Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel Alexander Lebedev Evgeny Lebedev | Centrist | Online only | ||||
| Financial Times | Daily | 106,038 | 1888 | Roula Khalaf | Nikkei Inc. | None | Broadsheet |
| Title | Days of publication | Circulation | Established | Editor | Owner | Political orientation | Political party support in the 2024 general election |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sun | Daily | 1,210,915 | 1964 | Victoria Newton | News Corporation | Right-wing | |
| The Sun on Sunday | Sundays | 1,013,777 | 2012 | None | |||
| Daily Mail | Daily | 745,629 | 1896 | Ted Verity | Daily Mail and General Trust plc | ||
| The Mail on Sunday | Sundays | 637,877 | 1982 | David Dillon | |||
| Daily Express | Daily | 163,610 | 1900 | Gary Jones | Reach | ||
| Sunday Express | Sundays | 163,610 | 1918 | Michael Booker | |||
| Daily Mirror | Daily | 258,043 | 1903 | Labour Party | |||
| Sunday Mirror | Sundays | 193,360 | 1915 | ||||
| Sunday People | Sundays | 65,460 | 1881 | Peter Willis | |||
| Daily Star | Daily | 146,949 | 1978 | Jon Clark | Largely non-political | Count Binface | |
| Daily Star Sunday | Sundays | 87,798 | 2002 | Denis Mann | None | ||
| Morning Star | Daily | N/A | 1930 | Ben Chacko | People's Press Printing Society | Left-wing | None |
| Title | Days of publication | Circulation | Format | Established | Editor | Owner | Political orientation | Distribution | Political party support in the 2024 general election |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evening Standard | Weekdays (evening) | 302,602 | Tabloid | 1827 | Emily Sheffield | Alexander Lebedev Lord Rothermere | Centre-right | Greater London | |
| Metro | Weekdays | 951,684 | Tabloid | 1999 | Ted Young | Largely non-political[6] | Wide availability in the major cities | None | |
| City A.M. | Monday to Thursday(morning) | 67,600 | Tabloid | 2005 | Andy Silvester[7] | City A.M. Ltd | Centre-right | None | |
| The Shuttle | Weekly | 10,152 | Tabloid | 1870 | Peter John | Newsquest Media Group | N/A | Wyre Forest area of Worcestershire | None |
| Asian Express | Weekly | N/A | Tabloid | 1999 | N/A | Media Buzz Ltd | Wide availability in the major cities | None | |
| Yorkshire Reporter | Monthly | N/A | Tabloid | 2013 | Pick up Publications Ltd | Widely available in Leeds and its surrounding areas | None |
| Title | Established | Editor | Owner | Political orientation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Statesman | 1913 | Jason Cowley | Mike Danson | Centre-left |
| The Spectator | 1828 | Fraser Nelson | Press Holdings (Barclay brothers) | Right-wing |
| Prospect | 1995 | Alan Rusbridger | Prospect Publishing Ltd | Centre-left |
| The Economist | 1843 | Zanny Minton Beddoes | The Economist Group | Centre |
| Tribune | 1937 | Ronan Burtenshaw | Bhaskar Sunkara | Left-wing |
| The Week | 1995 | Jeremy O'Grady | Dennis Publishing | Centre |
| Private Eye | 1961 | Ian Hislop | Pressdram Ltd | None |
| Title | Market type | Print time | Political alignment | Format | Circulation[8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Belfast Telegraph | Regional | Morning | British Unionist - Liberal | Compact | 35,931 | |
| The Irish News | Regional | Morning | Irish Nationalist | Compact | 33,647 | |
| The News Letter | Regional | Morning | British Unionist - Conservative | Tabloid | 13,374 |
| Title | Market type | Print time | Location | Format | Scottish circulation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Herald | National – Quality | Morning | Scottish | Broadsheet | 47,020 | |
| The Scotsman | National – Quality | Morning | Scottish | Compact | 38,423 | |
| The National | National – Mid Market | Morning | Scottish | Compact | 2,986 | |
| Daily Record | National – Tabloid | Morning | Scottish | Tabloid | 275,175 | |
| The Courier | Regional | Morning | Scottish | Compact | 61,981 | |
| The Press and Journal | Regional | Morning | Scottish | Compact | 71,044 | |
| Greenock Telegraph | Local | Morning | Scottish | Tabloid | 14,342 | |
| Paisley Daily Express | Local | Morning | Scottish | Tabloid | 7,538 | |
| Edinburgh Evening News | Local | Evening | Scottish | Tabloid | 39,947 | |
| Evening Express | Local | Evening | Scottish | Tabloid | 47,849 | |
| Evening Telegraph | Local | Evening | Scottish | Tabloid | 23,631 | |
| Evening Times | Local | Evening | Scottish | Tabloid | 52,400 | |
| The Daily Telegraph (Scottish edition) | National – Quality | Morning | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Broadsheet | 22,172 | |
| The Times (Scottish edition) | National – Quality | Morning | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Compact | 19,994 | |
| Scottish Daily Express | National – Mid Market | Morning | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Tabloid | 65,689 | |
| Scottish Daily Mail | National – Mid Market | Morning | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Tabloid | 109,643 | |
| Daily Star of Scotland | National – Tabloid | Morning | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Tabloid | 65,084 | |
| Scottish Daily Mirror | National – Tabloid | Morning | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Tabloid | 24,333 | |
| The Scottish Sun | National – Tabloid | Morning | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Tabloid | 314,595 | |
| The Financial Times | National – Quality | Morning | UK Newspaper widely available in Scotland | Broadsheet | 3,528 | |
| The Guardian | National – Quality | Morning | UK Newspaper widely available in Scotland | Berliner | 14,069 | |
| i | National – Quality | Morning | UK Newspaper widely available in Scotland | Compact | 12,411 | |
| Metro, Scottish Edition | Urban – Free | Morning | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Tabloid | 125,002 |
| Title | Market type | Location | Format | Scottish circulation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland on Sunday | National – Quality | Scottish | Broadsheet | 50,897 | |
| Sunday Mail | National – Tabloid | Scottish | Tabloid | 354,396 | |
| The Sunday Post | National – Tabloid | Scottish | Tabloid | 224,471 | |
| The Sunday Times Scotland | National – Quality | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Broadsheet | 59,502 | |
| The Sunday Telegraph Scotland | National – Quality | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Broadsheet | 18,339 | |
| Mail on Sunday Scotland | National – Mid Market | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Tabloid | 105,223 | |
| Scottish Sunday Express | National – Mid Market | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Tabloid | 35,337 | |
| Scottish Sunday Mirror | National – Tabloid | Scottish edition of UK Newspaper | Tabloid | 21,809 | |
| The Observer | National – Quality | UK Newspaper widely available in Scotland | Berliner | 17,880 | |
| The Independent on Sunday | National – Quality | UK Newspaper widely available in Scotland | Compact | 6,317 | |
| Daily Star Sunday | National – Tabloid | UK Newspaper widely available in Scotland | Tabloid | 26,889 | |
| The Sunday Sport | National – Tabloid | UK Newspaper widely available in Scotland | Tabloid | n/a |
Papurau Bro ('Area Papers') are Welsh language newspapers produced nominally monthly (typically 10 issues a year with a summer break) which cover the news in a small area - a town, group of parishes, one or a few valleys, etc. - with a circulation of perhaps a few thousand each. There are between 50 and 60 Papurau Bro which cover the whole of Wales, plus the Welsh communities of Liverpool and London. Papers are frequently named after local features, connections, crafts, etc., or in dialect (Welsh: clebran, clecs, clochdar, and clonc; all imply 'gossip'). The first papur bro (Y Dinesydd) appeared in 1973 in Cardiff, and the following decade saw the establishment of most of the others. Much of the work of producing the papers is done voluntarily (aside from the printing), although financial support is given by Bwrdd yr Iaith (Welsh Language Board). Some of the papers listed may have ceased publication.
Several newspapers in languages other than English are published in Britain, for immigrant and expatriate readers. Newspapers, both national and local, in Arabic, Bulgarian, Bangla, Italian, Korean, Latvian, Polish, Portuguese, Urdu, and other languages are published.[17]
| Title | Published | Language | Audience | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BG Ben | Fortnightly | Bulgarian | Bulgarian newspaper for people living in UK | |
| Hanin Herald | Weekly | Korean | Newspaper for the Korean community in the UK and abroad | |
| Tydzień Polski | Weekly | Polish | Newspaper aimed at Britain's Polish community | |
| Cooltura | Weekly | Polish | Most popular magazine for the Polish community in the UK | |
| Goniec Polski Polish Weekly Magazine | Weekly | Polish | Magazine for the Polish community in the UK | |
| Polish Express | Weekly | Polish | Tabloid magazine for the Polish Community in the UK | |
| Nowy Czas | Fortnightly | Polish | Magazine for educated Polish people living in UK | |
| Sing Tao | Daily | Chinese | Newspaper aimed at Britain's and Europe's Chinese community | |
| Achievements | Russian | UK's national Russian newspaper | ||
| Nuacht24 | Daily | Irish | For the Irish speaking community of Northern Ireland and Irish immigrants | |
| Y Cymro | Weekly | Welsh | For the Welsh-speaking areas of Wales and Welsh immigrants | |
| Garavi Gujarat | Weekly | Gujarati | Newspaper for the Gujarati community in the UK established in 1968 |
Student newspapers include:[22]