print media (newspapers and magazines)

broadcasting media (radio, terrestrial television, cable/satellite television)

THE PRESS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Historical outline

1665 - The London Gazette established (the official journal of record of the UK government) - the oldest continuously published newspaper in Britain

1702 - The Daily Courant - the first regular daily newspaper to be published in Britain (one page with two columns, ceased in 1735)

1731 - The Gentleman's Magazine - the first general interest magazine

1785 - The Times founded in London - still published today

1870 - the Education Act making primary education in Britain compulsory leads to the rise of popular press aimed in its price and content at lower and working classes

National newspapers

The national newspapers dominate newspaper publication in Britain:

• mostly based in London

• available in all parts of the UK on the same day with regional versions

• there are 12 daily national newspapers and 11 Sunday national newspapers in the UK today

• highly competitive against one another

• all national dailies are morning papers - there is no national evening paper

• there are no daily all-sports newspapers in Britain

• tendency to become smaller but contain more pages

• no state control or censorship - instead different forms of self-censorship

• no paper in Britain receives government funding

• no paper in Britain is an organ of a political party, although all of them are traditionally in favor of one or another party

• In terms of CONTENT British national papers are divided into:

• tabloids (down-market press, popular press, small-sheets, red-tops, gutter press)

• mid-market press

• quality press (up-market press, broadsheets, heavies)

The division into tabloids and quality papers is very characteristic of the British press and attempts to combine features of both types of journalism have usually failed, e.g. The Sunday Correspondent est. in 1989 claiming to be the first country's “quality tabloid”, was closed after one year.

TABLOIDS - characteristics:

• the name `tabloid' means compressed content

• small size

• enormous (`screaming') headlines and illustrations

• simple style English

• `human interest' stories, sex, scandals

• down-market advertising

• much larger sales than broadsheets

QUALITY PRESS - characteristics:

• serious articles and editorials

• more expensive than popular papers

• recently many traditional broadsheets have become `compact' or `tabloid' IN FORMAT

• up-market advertising

SUNDAYS - characteristics

• often sister papers of national dailies sharing the same ownership

• entirely different editorial boards and groups of journalists

• thicker than dailies

• larger sections on arts and literature

• color supplements

• selling more copies than dailies

UK national dailies:

popular

Daily Mirror (est. 1903) - owned by Trinity Mirror

The Sun (est. 1964) - owned by News International

Daily Star (est. 1978) - owned by Express Newspapers

Daily Sport (est. 1991) - owned by Sport Newspapers

mid-market

Daily Mail (est. 1896) - owned by Associated Newspapers

Daily Express (est. 1900) - owned by Express Newspapers

quality

The Times (est. 1785) - owned by News International

The Guardian (est. 1821) - owned by Guardian Newspapers

The Daily Telegraph (est. 1855) - owned by Telegraph Group

Financial Times (est. 1888) - owned by Pearson

The Independent (est. 1986) - owned by Independent Newspapers

The Morning Star

• founded in 1930 as Daily Worker - the organ of the Communist Party of Great Britain

• owned by a readers' co-operative People's Press Printing Society

• bulk ordered by the Soviet Union during the Cold War

UK national Sundays:

popular Sundays

News of the World (est. 1843) - owned by News International

The People (est. 1881) - owned by Trinity Mirror

Sunday Mirror (est. 1963) - owned by Trinity Mirror

Daily Star Sunday - owned by Express Newspapers

Sunday Sport (est. 1986) - owned by Sport Newspapers

mid-market Sundays

The Mail on Sunday (est. 1982) - owned by Associated Newspapers

The Sunday Express (est. 1918) - owned by Express Newspapers

quality Sundays

The Observer (est. 1791) - owned by Guardian Newspapers

The Sunday Times (est. 1822) - owned by News International

The Sunday Telegraph (est. 1961) - owned by Telegraph Group

The Independent on Sunday (est. 1990) - owned by Independent Newspapers

Most UK national papers are sold in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales in respective editions, but the three countries have also their own national newspapers based in Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cardiff, respectively.

NORTHERN IRELAND national daily:

The Belfast Telegraph

NORTHERN IRELAND national Sunday:

Sunday Life

SCOTLAND national dailies:

quality

The Herald (est. 1783) - published in Glasgow

The Scotsman (est. 1817) - published in Edinburgh

popular

Daily Record (est. 1895) - sister of Daily Mirror, published in Glasgow

SCOTLAND national Sundays:

Scotland on Sunday - published in Edinburgh

Sunday Herald - published in Glasgow

Sunday Mail - published in Glasgow

Sunday Post - published in Dundee

WALES national dailies:

Western Mail (est. 1869)

South Wales Echo

WALES national Sunday:

Wales on Sunday

Regional and local papers

There are about 1,300 regional and local papers in Britain, all of which have a significantly lower circulation than national papers. They do not belong to the big press empires and their local editors decide on their editorial policy. They mostly write about local affairs and contain lots of local ads.

Examples of regional papers in the UK:

England

The Evening Standard (est. 1827) - London's only evening newspaper,

Yorkshire Post (est. 1754) (Leeds)

Birmingham Post

Liverpool Daily Post

Liverpool Echo,

Manchester Evening News,

Wolverhampton Express and Star

Northern Ireland

News Letter (est. 1737)

Daily Ireland

The Irish News

Scotland

The Press and Journal (est. 1748) (Aberdeen)

Dundee Courier and Advertiser

Edinburgh Evening News

Glasgow Evening Times

Wales

South Wales Evening Post

Free newspapers

• about 900 all over the UK

• financed and overweighed by the local advertisements

Examples:

Metro

londonpaper

London Lite (free newspaper of the London's Evening Standard)

Metro News (Manchester)

Glaswegian

Periodicals and magazines

• about 8,500 periodicals and magazines all over the UK

• most of them are based in London with nationwide circulation

• aimed at different professional groups or consumers

Examples of political and current affairs magazines in Britain:

The Economist (est. 1843)

New Statesman (est. 1913)

The Spectator (est. 1828)

The Week (est. 1995)

Prospect (est. 1995)

New Scientist (1956)

Private Eye (est. 1961)

Radio Times (est. 1923) (TV and radio program listings)

Times Literary Supplement (TLS)

Times Educational Supplement (TES)

Times Higher Education (THE)

Big Issue (est. 1991) (sold by the homeless in the streets)

Press Complaints Commission (est. 1991) - the regulatory body for the British press

• financed by newspaper owners

• guards the freedom of the press

• maintains high standards of journalism

• judges complaints by the public against the press

• has adopted its own Editors' Code of Practice

LECTURE 8 ATTACHMENT 1 PCC Code of Practice

BROADCASTING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Historical outline

1922 - the British Broadcasting Company is founded by Sir John Reith

1927 - the British Broadcasting Company receives its Royal Charter and becomes the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) with Sir John Reith as its first Director-General

1954 - the Independent Television Authority (ITA) is founded to supervise independent television financed by advertising - the BBC monopoly on TV is finished

1973 - the Radio Authority is founded finishing the BBC monopoly on the radio

2003 - the Communications Act establishes Ofcom (replacing RA and ITA)- the independent regulator and competition authority for broadcasting, telecommunications and radiocommunications

• PUBLIC SECTOR - British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) - financed by the TV license fee

• INDEPENDENT SECTOR- commercial stations and channels - financed by advertising revenue

• strong competition between the two sectors

• most broadcasting media are centralised

• there are about:

• 600 TV channels (for consumers and on-demand)

• 250 radio stations (national, regional, local and community)

The following terrestrial TV channels, all of which are free-to-air, are available on a national basis:

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV 1 (made up of a number of regional franchises)

Channel 4 (S4C in Wales)

Five

Public service broadcasting (PSB)

Public service broadcasting (PSB) is broadcasting intended for the public benefit rather than for purely commercial concerns. Some TV channels and radio stations from both broadcasting sectors in the United Kingdom have a public service remit, i.e. MUST provide public service programming as specified in their broadcasting licence.

• BBC (all stations and channels)

• ITV Network

• Channel 4

• S4C

• Five

• GMTV

PSB requirements

PUBLIC SECTOR:

The British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC)

Nicknames: Auntie, Beeb or Auntie Beeb

Motto: Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation

the BBC coat of arms

• the largest broadcaster in the world

• public service broadcaster with high ideals

• reputation for impartial news reporting and high quality programmes

• established by Sir John Reith in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company to `inform, educate and entertain'

John Reith's original objectives:

“BBC's responsibility is to give the public not what they want but what they ought to want”

• incorporated under the Royal Charter in 1927 (renewed every 10 years) becoming the British Broadcasting Corporation

• held a monopoly in British broadcasting until 1954

• owned by the State but not controlled by the government

• independent of government and commercial interests

BBC HQ, Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London

According to the BBC Royal Charter from 2007 the public functions of the BBC include:

• sustaining citizenship and civil society;

• promoting education and learning;

• stimulating creativity and cultural excellence;

• representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities;

• bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK;

• helping to deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services, and taking a leading role in the switchover to digital television.

• The BBC must display at least one of the following characteristics in all content: high quality, originality, innovation, to be challenging and to be engaging.

• The BBC must demonstrate that it provides public value in all its major activities.

Structure

• the BBC Trust appointed by the Crown on the advice of government

• has the right to veto any program before transmission

• has the right to take away the BBC's licence for broadcasting

• the Director-General chosen by the board

Funding

• mandatory licence fee

• about 11 pounds per month per household

• free to the elderly

• sales of TV productions

• sales of Radio Times and other publications

• subscriptions and pay services

• advertising and sponsorship are NOT permitted on the BBC

BBC TV channels

BBC TV channels available free-to-air in the UK

BBC One (started 1936) - mass-appeal channel (news, plays, dramas series, comedy, quiz shows, sports, documentaries)

BBC Two (started 1954) - more serious items (news analysis, discussion, operas, concerts)

BBC Three (contemporary entertainment, comedy, music, drama)

BBC Four (culture and the arts)

BBC Parliament (covers Westminster Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, NI Assembly)

BBC News 24

CBBC Channel (for 7-12 year-olds)

CBeebies (for 1-6 year-olds)

BBC Alba (Gaelic language channel in Scotland)

BBC TV channels available outside the UK

BBC Entertainment

BBC Prime

BBC America

BBC Canada

BBC Lifestyle

BBC Food (Southern Africa and Scandinavia)

BBC Arabic Television (Middle East)

BBC Kids (Canada)

BBC World News

BBC Knowledge

BBC radio stations

UK

BBC Radio 1 (rock and pop music, prominent breakfast show, effective national news)

BBC Radio 2 (light music, news, comedy, chat shows)

BBC Radio 3 (classical, jazz, talks, discussions and plays, BBC Proms)

BBC Radio 4 (comedy shows, news reports and in-depth analysis) formerly known as the BBC Home Service

BBC Radio 5 Live (sports analysis and commentary)

BBC digital radio stations

BBC 1Xtra (new black music)

BBC 6 Music (indie rock/alternative rock, punk, funk, hip-hop)

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

BBC 7 (children's, drama and comedy)

BBC Asian Network (Broadcasting in English and a variety of other Asian languages)

Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland

Radio Scotland

Radio nan Gàidheal

Radio Wales

Radio Cymru (in Welsh)

Radio Ulster

Radio Foyle

England and Channel Islands

BBC English Regions - 40 local radio stations

• one of the largest international radio networks in the world

• established in 1932 as the BBC Empire Service

• currently broadcasting in 32 languages

• funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office - the only BBC service to receive subsidies from the government

• during WWII and Cold War identified with principles of democracy and freedom of speech, broadcasting to Nazi- and Soviet-occupied Europe

• aimed to "be the world's best-known and most-respected voice in international broadcasting, thereby bringing benefit to Britain"

BBC World Service HQ, Bush House, LondonINDEPENDENT SECTOR:

financed by:

• advertising

• satellite subscriptions

• sales of productions and publications

ITV Network

terrestrial TV

ITV 1 (started 1954) - (serious news reports drama productions, documentaries)

ITV1 provides licences for various regional TV companies, e.g.

• under the ITV1 label e.g. Border, Granada, Carlton, London Weekend, Meridian, Tyne Tees

• STV in Scotland

• UTV in Northern Ireland

• Channel TV in Channel Islands

• GMTV

cable/satellite TV

ITV2 (light entertainment and sports)

ITV3 (repeats of popular programs)

ITV4 (sports, cop shows, US comedies and dramas)

CITV (under 12 years olds)

Channel 4

Channel 4 (started 1982) - (cutting-edge drama, youth programming, Big Brother)

S4C - Sianel Pedwar Cymru - (Welsh language channel)

• public corporation funded by advertising

• S4C funded by a grant-in-aid and advertising

Five (entertainment)

The three commercial networks: ITV, Channel 4 and Five are obliged to provide public service programming according to their remits defined in the Communications Act of 2003

Sky Digital (cable/satellite)

Examples of Sky Digital channels

Sky News

Sky One

Sky Sports

Sky Movies

There are three national commercial radio stations: Classic FM, Absolute Radio, talkSport, as well as numerous local radio stations

• est. in 2003 by the Communications Act

• the single regulator for independent broadcast media in Britain

• Ofcom board is appointed by the government

• grants licences to independent broadcasters

• oversees program content and quality of all independent broadcast media

• the BBC is currently self-regulating to some extent; however, Ofcom's power and influence on the BBC is growing

Media ownership in Britain is concentrated in a few multi-national publishing groups - press barons/media tycoons/moguls, e.g.

• News Corporation owning Sky Digital, Sky Radio and News International, which publishes The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and News of the World in the UK as well as Fox Television and 20^th Century Fox in the USA

• Pearson owning Financial Times, Pearson Television, Penguin, Longman Group, and Addison-Wesley

• Trinity Mirror owning Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, People, Sunday Mail, Daily Record

• well-known British news agency

• founded by German telegraph promoter Baron Paul Julius de Reuter in 1851 as the second news agency in the world

• assurance of objectivity, accuracy, reliability

Reuters HQ in London

QUESTIONS

1. Provide four characteristics of British national newspapers.

2. What are the main differences between tabloid, quality and Sunday papers in the United Kingdom?

3. Name five British tabloids/broadsheets/Sundays.

4. What is the Press Complaints Commission?

5. Provide five major characteristics of the BBC?

6. What are the five main free-to-air terrestrial TV channels in the UK?

7. What are the BBC World Service and Reuters?

8. Name five regional newspapers in the United Kingdom?

Dr Tomasz Skirecki

Wiedza o krajach angielskiego obszaru językowego: WIELKA BRYTANIA

LECTURE 8: British media

9

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