Probably in no other country are there such great differences the various national daily newspapers – in the type of news they report and the way they report it. On the one hand, there are the “quality” newspapers: The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, the Financial times and the Daily Telegraph. These concern themselves, as far as possible, with factual reports of major national and international events, with the world of political and business and with the arts and sport. On the one hand, there are the “populars” and “tabloids”, so-called because of their smaller size. The tabloids – the most widely read of which are The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, the Daily Mirror, The Sun and the Daily Star – concentrate on more emotive reporting of stories often featuring sex, violence, the Royal Family, film and pop stars, and sport. It is often said that the popular press aims to entertain its rather than inform them. The tabloid press is much more popular than the quality press. In some countries, newspapers are owned by government or by political parties. This is not the case in Britain. Newspapers here are mostly owned by individuals or by publishing companies, and the editors of the papers are usually allowed considerate freedom of expression. This is not to say that newspapers are without political bias. In addition to the 12 national daily newspapers there are nine national papers which are published on Sundays. Most of the “Sundays” contain more reading matter than daily papers, and several of them also include “colour supplements”- separate colour magazines which contain photographically-illustrated feature articles. Reading a Sunday paper, like having a big Sunday lunch, is an important tradition in many British households. Besides, nearly every area in Britain has one or more local newspapers. The British are one of the biggest newspapers-reading nations in the world.
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