The Media in Britain: Comprehensive Notes
The Media in Britain
Structure of British Media
The media landscape in Britain encompasses various structures, including:
Print media, which is divided into national versus regional publications and quality versus tabloid/popular newspapers.
Broadcasting media, which includes both radio and television with different channels, operating under public versus independent models.
Print Media - History
The evolution of print media can be traced through several key stages:
17th Century: Newsletters, initially handwritten, emerged during the Civil War.
18th Century: A surge in newspapers and magazines occurred, exemplified by publications like The Tatler and The Spectator by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele.
Circulation was limited due to transport issues, illiteracy, and censorship, such as stamp duty on newspapers (until 1855), which suppressed the cheap, radical press.
19th Century (second half): Significant growth in print media was driven by the 1870 Education Act.
The rise of ‘New Journalism’ with popular newspapers due to growing political awareness, literacy, affordable printing, and consumerism, supported by advertisements.
1896: Alfred Harmsworth launched The Daily Mail, priced at , positioning it as a jingoistic and imperialist publication.
National Newspapers
National newspapers are available across the UK on the same day, a concept that originated in the 18th century with publications like The Times (1785) and Observer (1791).
Popular national papers emerged in the late 19th century, especially on Sundays, such as Daily Mail (1896) targeting the lower middle class and Daily Mirror (1903) founded by Harmsworth, aimed at the working class and supportive of Labour.
Competition and Political Bias in National Newspapers
Early 20th Century: Intense rivalry among press barons like Alfred Harmsworth and Arthur Pearson led to newspaper competition, such as between Daily Mirror and Daily Herald (1911, later renamed Sun).
Initially, both papers were pro-Labour, but the Sun later became very conservative.
Newspapers often exhibit strong political biases, predominantly conservative.
The political influence of newspapers and their owners is a recurring question, especially concerning the Brexit debate.
Circulation and Market Trends
The newspaper market grew in the early 20th century, reaching 5.5 million daily sales in 1920 and 17 million in 1973.
Since the 1970s, there has been a decline in print circulation.
However, interest in news remains high with many news brands consumed online, showing a significant digital increase compared to print.
Freesheet Metro is now highly popular.
The Sun stopped publishing circulation figures but was overtaken by the Daily Mail in 2019.
Tabloids are generally more popular than quality press, and conservative papers are more widely read than liberal ones.
The National Press in the Late 20th / Early 21st Century
The concentration of national press is in London, though no longer specifically in Fleet Street.
There may be an underrepresentation of the rest of the country.
Challenges include costs, trade union practices, changes in printing technologies, and the emergence of alternative media like the Internet.
Heavy competition exists among newspapers, creating an ‘oligopoly’ (e.g., Rupert Murdoch owning The Times and The Sun).
‘Popular’ vs. ‘Quality’ National Press
Quality papers (traditionally broadsheet, now often in ‘compact’ format) offer in-depth news and analysis for an educated readership with more extensive content. An example is The Times.
Popular papers (tabloids) are superficial and sensationalist, featuring large headlines, many pictures, and a focus on sex and scandal. An example is Sun.
Specific National Newspapers
The Times: A quality daily (with The Sunday Times as a weekly edition), founded in 1785/1822, is an ‘independent’ paper that was originally conservative. Developed ‘Times Roman’ and is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
The Guardian: Formerly Manchester Guardian, a quality daily founded in 1821 with a left-of-centre position, presented in a compact format.
The Independent: (‘Indie’) A quality daily founded in 1986, ‘independent’ and slightly leftish, available only online since early 2016.
The ‘I’: A quality daily founded in 2010, aimed at young people and readers with limited time, liberal, and formerly close to The Independent.
The Financial Times: Focuses on finance and the economy.
The Sun: A popular daily owned by Rupert Murdoch, features sex, celebrities, and scandals, known for its ‘Page Three Girl’.
The Daily Mirror: A popular daily consistently pro-Labour, founded in 1903 by A. Harmsworth.
Daily Mail: Mid-market, conservative, formerly broadsheet and very tentative.
The Daily Telegraph: A quality daily founded in 1855 with a mainly conservative readership, still published as a broadsheet.
Regional Newspapers
There are over 80 regional newspapers across the UK.
Larger ones usually appear in the evening to avoid competition with national papers.
Examples include London Evening Standard (tabloid daily), Metro (freesheet, London-based), The Yorkshire Post, and The Scotsman.
The Broadcasting Media
The broadcasting sector includes ‘Public sector’ (BBC, financed by licence fee) versus ‘independent sector’.
1922: British Broadcasting Company formed under John Reith, with radio licensed by fee and no ads, creating a monopoly in broadcasting as a ‘public service broadcaster’.
1932: BBC World Service established (of great importance in WWII).
1936: BBC started broadcasting television.
1953: The Coronation of Elizabeth II was an important event for TV.
Developments in Broadcasting
1954/5: BBC’s monopoly in TV ended, leading to the establishment of Independent Television Authority to supervise programs financed by adverts.
1950s: News began to appear on TV.
1980s and 1990s: More radio and TV programs were created as the Tory government enhanced competition.
Ofcom (Office of Communications) controls the quality of TV.
The BBC
Financed by a fee as a public service broadcaster.
Informally known as ‘Auntie’ or ‘the Beeb’.
Recent reforms include alternative finances, slimmer administration, and the inclusion of independent productions; 1991: BBC World Service Television.
Traditionally conservative with RP pronunciation but changing today.
Politically neutral channels: BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, BBC 4, BBC Prime, BBC World Service TV.
Independent Television Channels
Competition to the BBC: ITV, launched in 1955 as Independent Television (oldest commercial network in the UK).
Other independent TV channels: Channel 4 (since 1982) and Channel 5 (since 1997).
Trends in Television
1955-70: Realism – factual programs on everyday life, documentaries, news (e.g., Panorama on current affairs), and dramatizations of everyday life (e.g., Coronation Street, 1960-).
1960-70: Fantasy Dramas – exotic locations, spying, escapism (e.g., The Avengers; Dr Who).
1965-70: The Golden Age of Popular Television – ‘sitcoms’ (situational comedies) like Dad’s Army, Fawlty Towers.
1970-90: Conservatism – nostalgia (Brideshead Revisited, Merchant Ivory, and Heritage Films like The Remains of the Day) and EastEnders.
1975-90: Crime Series – The Bill, Inspector Morse, Miss Marple.
1980s: Politics – Yes, Minister.
1990s: Programs focused on everyday life, ‘docusoaps,’ costume dramas (e.g., Pride and Prejudice → Austenmania), and comedy (Men Behaving Badly, One Foot in the Grave).
21st century: Great popularity of cooking programs (e.g., The Great British Bake off) and programs about antiques and history (e.g., Antiques Road Show).
Popular Sitcoms and Soaps
Coronation Street (ITV, 1960-) – daily lives of working-class and lower-middle-class folks, set in an imaginary northern town; longest-running TV soap.
East Enders (BBC, 1985-) – focuses on East End working class.
Dad’s Army (BBC, 1968-77) – set in WWII, about the Home Guard.
Fawlty Towers (BBC, 1975-9) – created by John Cleese, set in a southern English seaside hotel.
Yes, Minister (BBC, 1980-2) – a political comedy about the inner workings of Whitehall.
Blackadder (BBC, sitcoms, 1983-9) – four series set at different times of English history (e.g., Elizabethan time, WWI).
Popular Radio Series and Soaps
The Archers (radio soap opera, BBC, 1950-) – longest-running radio soap, a “contemporary drama in a rural setting”.
Desert Island Discs (1942-) – interviews of VIPs, who choose 8 records, 1 book, and 1 luxury.
Theatre in the UK
Mostly commercial theatre (but Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House are publicly funded).
Most famous theatres are in the West End.
Longest-running play: A. Christie's The Mousetrap (since 1952).
A ‘Typically British’ form is the Christmas Pantomime (family entertainment based on fairy-tales, with the Dame as a common character).
Summary
Fast-growing print media since the mid-1850s.
Quality and popular national and regional newspapers.
Growth of free print media.
Broadcasting media: public and independent sector.
Media as an influential force in modern Britain.
For the most recent figures, see the provided links.