UK Newspapers on a News Stand

There are a wide number of newspaper types and formats, but three in particular tend to be used above all other in the UK. These are broadsheet, Berliner and tabloid. Aside from being particular print formats, some formats seem to have been used by newspapers with particular kinds of content, leading to the formats being associated with the seriousness of the publication.

Broadsheets are generally thought to be the purview of high-quality journalism, but they are also large and cumbersome, unsuited to reading on public transport. As many people only have time to read a newspaper while on the way to or from work, physical difficulty in reading a newspaper will often lead to choosing a more manageable format, such as a tabloid. The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, as well as The Sunday Times and the Financial Times, are all broadsheet newspapers in the UK by format. Other papers that fit the high-quality journalism standard of broadsheets, but use a smaller format similar to the tabloid, called the ‘compact’ format, are The Observer, The Times and The Independent.

The Berliner format fits between broadsheets and tabloids. Without any particular association with the quality of news reporting in the format, some broadsheet newspapers in the UK have looked to the Berliner format as a happy medium that allows for the portability of a tabloid format newspaper without the negative connotations. The Guardian began printing in Berliner format in 2005, after competing broadsheet newspapers had switched to the tabloid or ‘compact’ format. This offered the same portability advantages as the tabloid format while allowing for some unique design differences to distinguish the paper.

The Tabloid format is the smallest newspaper format and also the one with the reputation for the worst journalism. Interestingly, the term tabloid journalism predates the tabloid format, as the word ‘tabloid’ was simply a term applied to anything small. In the UK, tabloid newspapers have such a poor journalistic reputation that broadsheet-quality newspapers which have decided to take on a tabloid size have instead called the format ‘compact’ in order to avoid the many negative connotations of tabloid newspapers – connotations that those same broadsheets likely helped to reinforce in the past.

Le Monde is in the Berliner format. The Guardian is in the British broadsheet format, whereas the Daily Mail is a tabloid, and the Times a compact. Berliner Zeitung and Neues Deutschland are of sizes between broadsheet and Berliner. A piece of white A4 paper is placed in front for scale.

The advantage of the tabloid newspaper format is that it is much easier to handle on public transport, which is a necessity in the modern day. While this makes for less vertical and horizontal space, and often makes it difficult to separate different sections, sales of tabloid format newspapers are often much better than sales of comparable broadsheet format newspapers.

Thanks to the tabloid newspaper category now including both quality journalism and sensationalist newspapers, the sensationalist papers are now commonly referred to as ‘red-tops’ due to the red masthead that famous sensational tabloids like The Sun and the Daily Mirror share. These newspapers usually feature gossip and crime stories, with a much heavier emphasis on sexual stories and sports. One particularly distinguishing feature of many sensationalist tabloid newspapers is the page 3 girl – often marginally famous and topless, possibly involved in a scandal or else having made a scandal up. Often she will simply be an attractive young woman who will pique enough interest in a male browser to actually buy the tabloid in question rather than just flick through it.

Essentially, the market of UK newspapers is divided between the red-top readers and the black-top readers. Red-top readers are often interested more in light entertainment and a point of view that agrees with their own, while black-top readers are generally more interested in serious news stories. They also want an opinion that agrees with their own, just usually with more consideration to creating a reasoned argument for their opinions. Many people who buy newspapers will have favourites of both varieties, but more often they simply have several favourite online newspaper sites they visit, to satisfy their desires for both serious journalism, opinions on current news, and to be entertained throughout the day.