The British are the most voracious newspaper readers in the world. They read newspapers at breakfast; they walk to the bus reading a newspaper; they read a newspaper on the bus, as they go to work, and on the way back home, after work they are engrossed in an evening newspaper.
There are many morning papers, both national and provincial. The Times is the most famous newspaper in the world, and one of the great British Institutions. Although classically regarded as the newspaper of the Establishment, many consider the paper to be more radical than its rival, the Daily Telegraph. The esteem in which it is held has been summed up neatly in the following scene: A butler opens the door to find the media outside, waiting to interview his employer. He announces "The Press, Sir, and a gentleman from The Times".
Bold headlines and a variety of photographs are features of the British press. Some newspapers, such as the sober Daily Telegraph and The Times (which belong to the "quality press") use photographs sparingly. The more "popular" newspapers, using the small or "tabloid" format, such as the Daily Express, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror and the Sun, use pictures extensively and also run strip-cartoons and humorous drawings, some of which present striking pictorial comment on politics.
Newspapers differ greatly in their ways of presenting news. Quality papers present to their readers important political and other news at home and abroad. The style is clear-cut and the language is free from slang. Popular papers are less serious and contain human interest stories. They do not pay much attention to important world political items, and when they do, the facts are often distorted in an effort to make the news more exciting and entertaining. Popular papers are concerned especially with events commonly termed front-page news. This is presented in a sensational manner. Such information deals with conflicts, disasters, accidents. Much space is devoted to the private lives of film and pop stars, famous people, to crimes.
Besides offering features common to newspapers all over the world, British newspapers specialize in pages devoted to criticism of the arts and a woman's page. One feature found in many foreign newspapers is missing in British papers: the serial.
Nearly all papers pay special attention to the reporting of sport and athletics.
The evening newspapers (the first editions of which appear in the morning!) are often bought because the purchaser wants to know the winner of a race, or to get a good tip for a race that is still to be run.
There is no censorship of the press in Britain (except in war-time), though of course all papers - like private persons – are responsible for what they publish, and can be sued for libel for publishing articles that go beyond the bounds of decency, or for "contempt of court" (e.g. calling a man a murderer while he is still being tried). Such lawsuits are infrequent.
Besides the daily papers, there are a number of Sunday papers, many of which are connected with the "dailies", though not run by the same editor or staff. The Sunday papers are larger than the daily papers and usually contain a greater proportion of articles concerned with comment and general information rather than news. The national daily and Sunday papers have enormous circulations (the largest in the world) running into several millions of readers in certain cases. The economics of newspaper publishing in Britain and in particular their reliance on advertising revenue have, in recent years, led to the closing-down of several newspapers; their circulations would have been considered large in many other countries, but they were insufficient to ensure the life of a national newspaper in Britain. Of the Sunday papers, the Observer and the Sunday Times are the best known: their literary and artistic reviews are particularly prized, especially among the more highbrow members of the community. Several Sunday papers now publish a magazine supplement in colour.
Some of the daily and Sunday papers are at times criticised for being too sensational and devoting too much space to reporting murders and other crimes.
It is a regrettable fact that the number of magazines of a literary or political nature has declined since the war. This has probably been caused by the ever-wider use of radio and television. The most flourishing magazines are those published for women. Their covers are designed to catch the eye, and they certainly succeed in doing so! They offer their readers articles on cookery, fashion, needlework, knitting and many other matters of feminine interest. They also provide advice to those in love, "your fate foretold by the stars", and stories of romance with handsome heroes. Some women's magazines also include serious articles of more general interest.
The visitor who looks at the magazines displayed in a large bookstall will notice that there is a wide variety of technical and semi-technical publications. There are magazines for the motorist, the farmer, and many others.
There are many local and regional papers. It is customary in Britain for a newsagent to deliver the morning papers to his customers for a small extra payment; this service is usually performed by boys and girls who want to earn some pocket-money.