UK Newspapers and

Television in Britain


: Newspapers; Although the British have traditionally read large quantities of newspapers, newspaper circulation has fallen dramatically over the last few years. We read 20% fewer papers today than in 1990.; Our papers fall in to 2 categories - broadsheet (so called because the pages are very big) and tabloid (the page size is more magazine size). The broadsheet papers are the more cerebral ones, the tabloids are the ones that have been giving the nation a bad name, but which are read in the greatest numbers.; If you want to get any foreign news from a British paper I suggest you read the Times, Telegraph or Independent - and even in these the baseball results will only be given the prominence they deserve (you will find the American papers take a parallel view on say cricket scores)

Broadsheet papers

The Times

not quite the Thunderer of old

news from a right wing angle

news from a left wing point of view

claims to be from the centre

not much news, more financial news

a national Scots paper

Tabloid papers

Daily Mail

Daily Express

The Sun

The Mirror

would claim to be the intellectual tabloid

a bit to the right of the Mail

read if you have an interest in busty ladies

more information on busty ladies

Foreign papers

Available widely in central London. Outside that you will only find them if lots of you fellow countrymen frequent that part of Britain. On balance it is better to travel not expecting to find your favourite foreign paper, then it will be a bonus if you come across it

Television: Britain has 5 terrestrial TV channels and the usual myriad of satellite and cable channels.; The non terrestrial channels only have sparse coverage - you will be lucky to find CNN; BBC has the advantage of no adverts. Region coverage is better on ITV

	BBC 1	the BBC's main channel - has "popular" programmes
	BBC 2	the more specialist output from the BBC
	ITV	same as BBC 1, but honed by the need to please advertisers
	Channel 4	vies with BBC 2 for the upmarket market
	Channel 5	difficult to get national coverage, very few viewers, old films

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