The News of the World and the British Press, 1843-2011 ('Journalism for the Rich, Journalism for the Poor')

The News of the World and the British Press, 1843-2011 provides the first extended, scholarly treatment of the history of the News of the World, from its launch in 1843 until its inauspicious end in 2011. At the time of its closing, the News of the World was one of the UK's longest running Sunday papers, with a rich and varied history. In the summer of 2011, News International made the decision to close the paper, in the midst of a deepening scandal which implicated the paper in 'phone hacking' allegations. This scandal led to the establishment of the Leveson Inquiry – a public inquiry established to investigate the practices and ethics of the British press, including the paper but extending well beyond. This was not an august end to a paper that had been among the world's largest selling newspapers and which was, as this volume demonstrates, central to the cultural life of Britain at various points in its history. The title will now forever be linked to a scandalous demise, one which shed light on contemporary newspaper practices, but the history of the paper is important for numerous reasons.

The contributions within explore a range of topics which shed light not only on the News of the World, but also on media history and British history more generally. Empire, the role of women, political cartooning, sensation and scandal, investigative campaign journalism, newsgathering techniques, the move from broadsheet to tabloid – these and other subjects help us to understand this important title better and probe us to reconsider our understanding of the popular press at different moments in history. Through significant new research, we now know much more about the details of the paper's history, providing important new aspects of moments of change.