The Observer

The Observer is a broadsheet newspaper of the United Kingdom published on Sundays. It takes a liberal/social democratic line on most issues. Its daily sister paper is The Guardian.

History

The first issue (published on December 4, 1791), was the world's first Sunday newspaper.

Related Topics:
December 4 - 1791

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In 1911, William Waldorf Astor (1848-1919) purchased The Observer from the Harmsworth family. The Observer had changed its position in 1942. Till then, it had always been a Tory paper, under the 34-year editorship of J. L. Garvin. After his time, it declared itself non-partisan, at that time an unusual stance.

Related Topics:
1911 - William Waldorf Astor - 1848 - 1919 - 1942 - Tory - J. L. Garvin

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Passed on to son Waldorf Astor, he in turn passed it on in 1948 to his sons, of which David Astor (1912-2001) would be the paper's editor for 27 years. In 1977, the Astors sold the ailing newspaper to US oil giant Atlantic Richfield (now called ARCO) for US$1 who sold it to Lonrho plc in 1981. Since June 1993, it has been part of the Guardian Media Group.

Related Topics:
Waldorf Astor - 1948 - David Astor - 1912 - 2001 - 1977 - Atlantic Richfield - Lonrho plc - 1993 - Guardian Media Group

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Under David Astor's editorship the Observer became the first national newspaper to oppose the government's 1956 invasion of Suez, a move which cost it many readers. In 1990 Farzad Bazoft, a journalist for the Observer, was executed in Iraq on (false) charges of spying.

Related Topics:
Farzad Bazoft - Iraq

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On February 27, 2005 it launched The Observer Blog http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/index.html, making it the first newspaper to purposefully document its own internal decisions, and the first newspaper to indulge in podcasting.

Related Topics:
February 27 - 2005 - Podcasting

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