Tabloid (newspaper format)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the newspaper market segment. For the style of journalism, see
Tabloid (paper size)
.

Comparison of some newspaper sizes with metric paper sizes. Approximate nominal dimensions are in millimetres.
British tabloids in 2011

A tabloid is a

red tops and compact
, distinguished by editorial style.

Red top tabloids are distinct from broadsheet newspapers, which traditionally cater to more affluent, educated audiences with in-depth reporting and analysis. However, the line between tabloids and broadsheets has blurred in recent decades, as many broadsheet newspapers have adopted tabloid or compact formats to reduce costs and attract readers.

Globally, the tabloid format has been adapted to suit regional preferences and media landscapes. In countries like Germany and Australia, tabloids such as Bild and The Daily Telegraph have significant readerships and political clout.

Etymology

Three pill pots from Burroughs Wellcome & Co.
Tabloid products of the late 1880s

The word tabloid comes from the name given by the

Burroughs Wellcome & Co. to the compressed tablets they marketed as "Tabloid" pills in the late 1880s.[1] The connotation of tabloid was soon applied to other small compressed items. A 1902 item in London's Westminster Gazette noted, "The proprietor intends to give in tabloid form all the news printed by other journals." Thus tabloid journalism in 1901, originally meant a paper that condensed stories into a simplified, easily absorbed format. The term preceded the 1918 reference to smaller sheet newspapers that contained the condensed stories.[2]

Types

Tabloid newspapers, especially in the

conservatism, although red-top tabloids, on account of their historically working-class target market, generally embrace populism to some degree. Red top tabloids are so named due to their tendency, in British and Commonwealth usage, to have their mastheads printed in red ink; the term compact was coined to avoid the connotation of the word tabloid, which implies a red top tabloid, and has lent its name to tabloid journalism
, which is journalism after the fashion of red top reporters.

Red top tabloids

See also:
Red tops

Red top tabloids, named after their distinguishing red

gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news. Celebrity gossip columns which appear in red top tabloids and focus on their sexual practices, misuse of narcotics, and the private aspects of their lives often border on, and sometimes cross the line of defamation
.

Red tops tend to be written with a simplistic, straightforward vocabulary and grammar; their layout usually gives greater prominence to the picture than to the word. The writing style of red top tabloids is often accused of sensationalism and extreme political bias; red tops have been accused of deliberately igniting controversy and selectively reporting on attention-grabbing stories, or those with shock value. In the extreme case, tabloids have been accused of lying or misrepresenting the truth to increase circulation.[3][4]

Examples of British red top newspapers include The Sun, the Daily Star and the Daily Mirror. Although not using red mastheads, the Daily Mail and Daily Express also use the 'tabloid journalism' model.

Compact tabloids

For a list of newspapers publishing in the compact "tabloid" format, see Compact (newspaper).

In contrast to red-top tabloids, compacts use an editorial style more closely associated with

commuter bus or train. The term compact was coined in the 1970s by the Daily Mail, one of the earlier newspapers to make the change, although it now once again calls itself a tabloid.[citation needed
] The purpose behind this was to avoid the association of the word tabloid with the flamboyant, salacious editorial style of the red top newspaper.

The early converts from broadsheet format made the change in the 1970s; two British papers that took this step at the time were the Daily Mail and the

labourers
.

Compact tabloids, just like

socialist
.

International use

Africa

In Morocco, Maroc Soir, launched in November 2005, is published in tabloid format.[5]

In

tikoloshes
, ancestral visions and all things supernatural. It is also published as the Sunday Sun.

In Mauritius, the popular afternoon newspaper Le Mauricien shifted from tabloid (1908–2008) to the Berliner format (2008–2013) and now adopts a compact format with 32 pages during the week and 48 pages on Saturday.

Asia

In Bangladesh, the Daily Manab Zamin became the first and is now the largest circulated Bengali language tabloid in the world.[citation needed]

In Georgia, the weekly English-language newspaper The Financial switched to a compact format in 2005 and doubled the number of pages in each issue. Other Georgian-language newspapers have tested compact formats in the early 1990s.

Tabloid journalism is still an evolving concept in India's print media. The first tabloid,

Hitler!". Blitz was first published in English and then branched out with Hindi, Marathi and Urdu versions. In 1974, Russi's daughter Rita founded the Cine Blitz magazine. In 2005, Times of India brought out a dedicated Mumbai tabloid newspaper, Mumbai Mirror, which gives prominence to Mumbai-related stories and issues. Tehelka started as a news portal in 2000. It broke the story about match-fixing in Indian and International Cricket and the sting operation on defence deals in the Indian Army. In 2007, it closed shop and reappeared in tabloid form, and has been appreciated for its brand of investigative journalism. Other popular tabloid newspapers in English media are Mid-Day, an afternoon newspaper published out of and dedicated to Mumbai and business newspapers like MINT
. There are numerous tabloids in most of India's official languages. There is an all youth tabloid by the name of TILT – The ILIKE Times.

In Indonesia, tabloids include Bola, GO (Gema Olahraga, defunct), Soccer (defunct), Fantasy (defunct), Buletin Sinetron (defunct), Pro TV (defunct), Citra (defunct), Genie, Bintang Indonesia (Indonesian Stars), Nyata, Wanita Indonesia (Women of Indonesia), Cek and Ricek, and Nova.

In Oman,

TheWeek
is a free, 48-page, all-colour, independent weekly published from Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman. Oman's first free newspaper was launched in March 2003 and has now gone on to gather what is believed to be the largest readership for any publication in Oman. Ms Mohana Prabhakar is the managing editor of the publication. TheWeek is audited by BPA Worldwide, which has certified its circulation as being a weekly average of 50,300.

In Pakistan, Khabrain is a tabloid newspaper popular within the lower middle class. This news group introduced a new paper, Naya Akhbar which is comparably more sensational. At the local level, many sensational tabloids can be seen but, unlike Khabrain or other big national newspapers, they are distributed only on local levels in districts.

Southern Philippines
, a new weekly tabloid, The Mindanao Examiner, now includes media services, such as photography and video production, into its line as a source to finance the high cost of printing and other expenses. It is also into independent film making.

Europe

The Berliner format, used by many prominent European newspapers, is sized between the tabloid and the broadsheet. In a newspaper context, the term Berliner is generally used only to describe size, not to refer to other qualities of the publication. The biggest tabloid (and newspaper in general) in Europe, by circulation, is Germany's Bild, with around 2.5 million copies (down from above 5 million in the 1980s). Although its paper size is bigger, its style was copied from the British tabloids.

In

Berlingske Tidende
 shifted from broadsheet to tabloid format in 2006, while keeping the news profile intact.

In Finland, the biggest newspaper and biggest daily subscription newspaper in the Nordic countries Helsingin Sanomat changed its size from broadsheet to tabloid on 8 January 2013.

In France, the Nice Matin (or Le Dauphiné), a popular Southern France newspaper changed from Broadsheet to Tabloid on 8 April 2006. They changed the printing format in one day after test results showed that 74% liked the Tabloid format compared to Broadsheet. But the most famous tabloid dealing with crime stories is Le Nouveau Détective, created in the early 20th century. This weekly tabloid has a national circulation.

In the

Sp!ts (ceased 2014), mostly for distribution in public transportation. In 2007, a third and fourth free tabloid appeared, 'De Pers' (ceased 2012) and 'DAG' (ceased 2008). De Telegraaf, came in broadsheet but changed to tabloid in 2014.[6]

In Norway, close to all newspapers have switched from the broadsheet to the tabloid format, which measures 280 x 400 mm. The three biggest newspapers are Dagbladet, VG, and Aftenposten.

In Poland, the newspaper Fakt, sometimes Super Express is considered as tabloid.[7]

In the United Kingdom, three previously broadsheet daily newspapers—

labour unions
.

North America

"A photographer's photographer" quote by First Lady Florence Harding, who stated the Edward Jackson's photograph of her was "the best photo ever taken." The photo ran on the entire front page of the February 5, 1921 edition of the New York Daily News.

In

Postmedia's Sun brand are in tabloid format including The Province, a newspaper for the British Columbia market. The Canadian publisher Black Press publishes newspapers in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta in both tabloid (10+1⁄4 in (260 mm) wide by 14+1⁄2 in (368 mm) deep) and what it calls "tall tab" format, where the latter is 10+1⁄4 in (260 mm) wide by 16+1⁄4 in (413 mm) deep, larger than tabloid but smaller than the broadsheets it also publishes.[8]

In the

Daily News and Newsday in New York, the San Francisco Examiner, The Bakersfield Californian and La Opinión in California, The Jersey Journal and The Trentonian in New Jersey, the Philadelphia Daily News, the Delaware County Daily Times and The Citizens' Voice, The Burlington Free Press, The Oregonian, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Boston Herald. US tabloids that ceased publication include Denver's Rocky Mountain News
.

Oceania

In

The Courier Mail, The West Australian, The Mercury, the Hamilton Spectator
, The Portland Observer, The Casterton News and The Melbourne Observer.

South America

In Argentina, one of the country's two main newspapers, Clarín, is a tabloid.

In Brazil, many newspapers are tabloids, including sports daily Lance! (which circulates in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo), most publications currently and formerly owned by Grupo RBS (especially the Porto Alegre daily Zero Hora), and, in March 2009, Rio de Janeiro-based O Dia switched to tabloid from broadsheet, though, several years later, it reverted to being a broadsheet. Its sister publication, Meia Hora has always been a tabloid, but in slightly smaller format than O Dia and Lance!.

As a weekly alternative newspaper

The more recent usage of the term 'tabloid' refers to weekly or semi-weekly newspapers in tabloid format. Many of these are essentially straightforward newspapers, publishing in tabloid format, because subway and bus commuters prefer to read smaller-size newspapers due to lack of space. These newspapers are distinguished from the major daily newspapers, in that they purport to offer an "alternative" viewpoint, either in the sense that the paper's editors are more locally oriented, or that the paper is editorially independent from major media conglomerates.

Other factors that distinguish "alternative" weekly tabloids from the major daily newspapers are their less-frequent publication, and that they are usually free to the user, since they rely on ad revenue. Alternative weekly tabloids may concentrate on local and neighbourhood-level issues, and on entertainment in bars, theatres, or other such venues.

Alternative tabloids can be positioned as

downmarket
(sensational) newspapers, which emphasize sensational crime stories and celebrity gossip. In each case, the newspapers will draw their advertising revenue from different types of businesses or services. An upmarket weekly's advertisers are often organic grocers, boutiques, and theatre companies while a downmarket's may have those of trade schools, supermarkets, and the sex industry. Both usually contain ads from local bars, auto dealers, movie theaters, and a classified ads section.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Henry Wellcome the Sailesman". Wellcome. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  2. ^ "tabloid, n. and adj.", Oxford English Dictionary online
  3. ^ "A Brief History of Fake News". Center for Information Technology and Society at UC Santa Barbara. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  4. ^ Kharpal, Arjun (19 May 2017). "The Daily Mail has 'mastered the art of running stories that aren't true', Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales says". CNBC. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Morocco: New French speaking paper for the younger generation" (PDF). Press Business (1). February 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Telegraaf op Zondag terug". 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  7. ISBN 9780749442262
    . Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  8. ^ "2007 Retail Advertising Rates" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009.

Further reading

  • Bessie, Simon Michael. Jazz Journalism: The Story Of The Tabloid Newspapers (1938) online
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