History of the UK Newspaper Industry

Newspapers

In this course, Professor Adrian Bingham (University of Sheffield) looks at the media form of newspapers. In the first module, we explore the history of the UK newspaper industry. After this, we explore how newspapers target audiences and the key idea that newspapers are not ‘neutral records’ but instead construct reality. Then, we look at how newspapers construct and reflect aspects of identity, focusing in particular on gender and sexuality. In the fourth module, we assess how newspapers construct and reflect aspects of identity, focusing in particular on class. Then, we explore how newspapers construct and reflect aspects of identity, focusing in particular on nation and national identity. Finally, we look at how newspapers construct and reflect aspects of identity, focusing in particular on race and racism.

History of the UK Newspaper Industry

In this module we explore the history of the UK newspaper industry, focusing in particular on: (i) the early beginnings of the UK newspaper industry in the 17th century; (ii) the development of a recognisably modern newspaper industry by the mid nineteenth century and the role of industrialisation; (iii) the launch of popular daily papers in the late nineteenth century e.g. the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror; (iv) the role of peak newspaper circulations in the 1950s and subsequently increasing competition from other media forms, e.g. radio, television, and later the internet; (v) how this competition challenged the dominance of traditional newspapers and forced them to adapt and evolve.