Newspaper

A newspaper is a lightweight and disposable publication, usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. It may be general or special interest, and may be published daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly. They are the oldest form of widespread information gathering and dispersal, dating back some 300 years in their present form, and can be found in every country and major city of the world, as well as in most smaller communities.

Format

Most modern newspapers are in one of three sizes:

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• broadsheets: 600mm by 380mm (23½ by 15 inches), generally associated with more intellectual newspapers, although a trend towards 'compact' newspapers is changing this.
• tabloids: half the size of broadsheets at 380mm by 300mm (15 by 11¾ inches), and often perceived as sensationalist in contrast to broadsheets.
• Berliner or midi: 470mm by 315mm (18½ by 12¼ inches) used by European papers such as Le Monde in France, La Stampa in Italy or, from 12 September 2005, The Guardian in the United Kingdom.

Newspapers are usually printed on inexpensive, off-white paper known as newsprint. Since the 1980s, the newspaper industry has largely moved away from lower-quality letterpress printing to higher-quality, four-color process, offset printing. In addition, desktop computers, word processing software, graphics software, digital cameras and digital prepress and typesetting technologies have revolutionized the newspaper production process. These technologies have enabled newspaper to make extensive use of color photographs and graphics, as well as innovative layouts and better design.

Related Topics:
Newsprint - 1980s - Letterpress printing - Four-color process - Offset printing - Desktop computers - Word processing software - Graphics software - Digital cameras - Prepress - Typesetting - Layouts

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To help their titles stand out on newsstands, some newspapers are printed on coloured newsprint. For example, the Financial Times is printed on a distinctive salmon pink paper, the Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport is printed on pink paper, while L'Équipe (formerly L'Auto) is printed on yellow paper. (Both the latter promoted major cycling races and their newsprint colours were reflected in the colours of the jerseys used to denote the race leader; thus, the leader in the Giro d'Italia wears a pink jersey, while the Tour de France leader wears a yellow jersey, or maillot jaune).

Related Topics:
Financial Times - La Gazzetta dello Sport - L'Équipe - Cycling - Giro d'Italia - Tour de France - Maillot jaune

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