Tabloid

A tabloid is a newspaper format particularly popular in the United Kingdom. A tabloid format newspaper is roughly 23½ by 14 3/4 inches (597 mm × 375 mm) per spread. This is the smaller of two standard newspaper sizes; the larger newspapers, associated with higher-quality journalism, are called broadsheets. A third major format for newspapers is the Berliner, which is sized between the tabloid and the broadsheet. The phrase tabloid press is used to refer to newspapers focusing on less "serious" content, especially celebrities, the British Royal Family, sports, and sensationalist crime stories, though in recent years several "mainstream" newspapers have begun printing in the tabloid format (see below). The term red top (as in News International red tops sweep the board) is also used in Britain for these less serious newspapers, on account of the red mastheads used by most of them.

Overview

The name seems to derive from Burroughs-Wellcome's 1884 trademark for their process of making "tablet-like" compressed pharmaceuticals. The connotation of compressed tablet was soon applied to other small things and to the "compressed' journalism that condensed stories into a simplified, easily-absorbed format. The label of "tabloid journalism" (1901) preceded the smaller sheet newspapers that contained it (1918).

Related Topics:
Burroughs-Wellcome - Trademark - Pharmaceutical

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There are two distinct uses of the term today. The more recent usage, actually deriving from the original usage, refers to weekly or semi-weekly alternative papers in tabloid format. Many of these are essentially straightforward newspapers, publishing in tabloid format. What principally distinguishes these from the dailies, in addition to their less-frequent publication, is the fact that they are usually free to the user, relying on ad revenue, as well as the fact that they tend to concentrate more on local entertainment scenes and issues.

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In its traditional sense, tabloids tend to emphasise sensational stories and are reportedly prone to create their news if they feel that the subjects cannot, or will not, sue for libel. In this respect, much of the content of the tabloid press could be said to fall into the category of junk food news.

Related Topics:
Sensational - Libel - Junk food news

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This style of journalism has been exported to the United States and various other countries. In the People's Republic of China, Chinese tabloids have exploded in popularity since the mid-1990s and have tested the limits of press censorship by taking editorial positions critical of the government and for engaging in critical investigative reporting.

Related Topics:
Journalism - United States - People's Republic of China - Chinese tabloid

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Since 1999 all major US supermarket tabloids (as distinct from local newspapers in the tabloid format; i.e., the Enquirer, Star, Globe, Examiner, ¡Mira!, Sun, and Weekly World News) have been under single ownership, which some readers fear has undermined the tabloids' traditional competitiveness and has significantly altered their editorial policies and news coverage.

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The biggest tabloid (and newspaper in general) in Europe, by circulation, is Germany's Bild-Zeitung, with around 4 million copies (down from above 5 million in the 1980s). Although its paper size is bigger, its style was copied from the British tabloids.

Related Topics:
Europe - Germany - Bild-Zeitung - 1980s

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