Best-Selling Newspapers in the UK

Monthly reach of national newspapers and their

websites in the United Kingdom (UK) from
October 2016 to September 2017 (in 1,000
individuals)
1. The Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday – 14,322

Owned by the ‘Daily Mail’ and the ‘General Trust’, who are owned by the Viscount Rothermere
(Chairman) – otherwise known as Jonathan Harmsworth and Paul Zwillenberg (CEO).

2. The Sun/Sun on Sunday – 12,982

The Sun is owned by News Corp. Owned by Rupert Murdoch.

3. The Guardian/The Observer – 9,978

Owned by Guardian News and Media (GNM) – the CEO of this being David Pemsel.

4. The Daily Telegraph/The Sunday – 9,807

The Telegraph is owned by the Telegraph Media Group, owned by David and Frederick Barclay.

5. Daily Express/Sunday Express – 6,835

Owned by Trinity Mirror – owned by Richard Desmond, one of the largest British newspaper,
magazine and digital publishers, with David Grigson the Chairman, and Simon Fox the CEO.

6. The Times/The Sunday Times – 6,099

The Times is owned by News UK – which is owned by News Corp, which is owned by Rupert
Murdoch.

7. Daily Star/Daily Star Sunday – 3,617

The Daily Star is also owned by Richard Desmond.

8. Daily Record/Sunday Mail (Scotland) – 1,676

The Daily Record is owned by Trinity Mirror, Chairman David Grigson and the CEO Simon Fox.
Newspapers Political Stances
 Newspaper Bias

In March 2017, Owen Jones went on record and described the UK press as:

“Largely run by a very small group of very right-wing media moguls who defend the status quo of
which they are part. If you are on the Left and want to change society, the media will always come
and get you”.

The Guardian is perceived by the general public as the most left-wing newspaper, whereas The Daily
Mail is seen as the most right-wing newspaper – which also happens to be the most popular
newspaper in the UK. 81% of its contents are thought to be right-wing. The Independent is also seen
as the most centrist newspaper, however it has now decided to not sell physical copies.

“Personal ideology has relatively little impact on perception of newspaper’ ideology”

Therefore this means that despite whatever political standpoint people are, they are still able to
easily detect what angle a newspaper is at, whether that be right-wing, left-wing etc.

The only exception for this is people who had the most extreme points of view – e.g. may think that
something in a right-wing paper isn’t enough ‘right-wing’ for them and therefore they could perceive
it as being partly ‘left-wing’ in their perception.

Spotting Newspaper Bias

At one time or other we all complain about ‘bias in the news’. The fact is, despite the journalistic
ideal of “objectivity”, every news story is influenced by the attitudes and background of its
interviewers, writers, photographers and editors.

Not all bias is deliberate. But you can become a more aware news reader or viewer by watching for
the following journalistic techniques that allow bias to “creep in” to the news.

 Bias through selection and omission

 Bias through placement
 Bias by headline
 Bias by photos, captions and camera angles
 Bias through use of names and titles
 Bias through statistics and crowd counts
 Bias by source control
 Word choice and tone

An editor can express a bias by choosing to use or not to use a specific news item. Within a given
story, some details can be ignored or give readers or viewers a different opinion about the events
reported – e.g. A few people boo, a reaction can be described as “remarks greeted by jeers” or they
can be ignored as “a handful of dissidents”.

Bias through omission is difficult to detect. Only by comparing news reports from a wide variety of
outlets can be the form of bias be observed.

Bias through placement, where readers judge first page stories to be more significant buried in the
back. Television and radio newscasts run the most important stories first and leave the less
significant for later. Where a story is placed, therefore, influences what a reader or viewer thinks
about its importance.
Bias by headline, where many people only read the headlines of a news item. Most people scan
nearly all the headlines in a newspaper. Headlines are the most read part of a paper. They can
summarise as well as present carefully hidden bias and prejudices. They can convey excitement
where little exists. They can express approval or condemnation.

Bias by photos, captions and camera angles, where some pictures will flatter a person, others make
the person look unpleasant. A paper can choose photos to influence opinion about, for example, a
candidate for election. On television, the choice of which visual image to display is extremely
important. The captions newspapers run below are also potential sources of bias.

Bias through use of names and titles, where news media often use labels and titles to describe
people, places and events. A person can be called an “ex-con” or be referred to as someone who
“served time twenty years ago for a minor offence”. Whether a person is described as a “terrorist”
or a “freedom fighter” is a clear indication of editorial bias.

Bias through statistics and crowd counts, where it is to make a disaster seem more spectacular (and
therefore worthy of reading about). Numbers can be inflated. “A hundred injured in air crash” can
be the same as “only minor injuries in air crash.” Reflecting the opinion of the person doing the
counting.

Bias by source control, where to detect bias, always consider where the news item “comes from”. Is
the information supplied by a reporter, an eyewitness, police or fire officials, executives, or elected
or appointed government officials? Each may have a particular bias that is introduced into the story.
Companies and public relations directors supply news outlets with puff pieces through news
releases, photos or videos. Often news outlets depend on pseudo-events (demonstrations, sit-ins,
ribbon cuttings, speeches and ceremonies) that take place mainly to gain news coverage.

Word choice and tone, where showing the same kind of bias that appears in headlines, the use of
positive and negative words or words with a particular connotation can strongly influence the reader
or viewer.