The British Newspaper, 1951-2000

The British Newspaper, 1951-2000

Selwyn Eagle with Diana Dixon, NEWSPLAN: Report of the Newsplan Project
in the London and South Eastern Library Region (London, 1996)
British Library Newspaper Library
Copyright ©1999, The British Library Board

• 1953 : General Council of the Press formed.
• 1954 - Oct 3 : The Manchester Sunday paper, Emire News, sets up its first Cardiff edition as 'Wales's Own Sunday Paper: Printed in Wales for Wales'.
• 1959 - Aug 24 : Manchester Guardian changes title to the Guardian, based in London.
• 1961 : Second Royal Commission on the Press.
• 1961 - Feb 5 : Sunday Telegraph launched.
• 1962 - Feb 4 : Launch of Sunday Times magazine as Sunday Times Colour Section.
• 1964 : Press Council replaces General Council of the Press.
• 1964 - June 9 : Death of Lord Beaverbrook.
• 1964 - Sept 6 : Observer colour supplement launched.
• 1964 - Sept 15 : Daily Herald becomes the Sun.
• 1964 - Sept 25 : Daily Telegraph magazine launched.
• 1966 : Times bought by Roy Thomson, owner of the Sunday Times.
• 1966 - May 3 : Times begins printing news on the front page.
• 1969 : News of the World bought by Rupert Murdoch.
• 1969 - Nov 17 : Sun re-launched as a tabloid by Rupert Murdoch.
• 1973 : Y Dinesydd launched in Cardiff: the first of the Welsh-language community papers ['papurau bro'] established in Wales.
• 1974 : Third Royal Commission on the Press.
• 1976 : Evening Post (Nottingham) becomes the first British newspaper to introduce direct input by journalists.
• 1978 - Nov 2 : Daily Star launched.
• 1978 - Dec 1 : Publication of the Times and Sunday Times suspended for eleven months.
• 1979 : Financial Times launches international edition in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
• 1980 : Daily Star printed simultaneously by facsimile in London and Manchester.
• 1980 : British Library Newspaper Library Newsletter launched. Became Newspaper Library News in 1997.
• 1980 - Oct 31 : Closure of Evening News leaves London with just one evening newspaper.
• 1981 : Rupert Murdoch buys the Times and Sunday Times.
• 1981 - May 3 : Sunday Express magazine launched.
• 1981 - Sept 6 : News of the World magazine, Sunday, launched.
• 1982 - May 2 : Mail on Sunday launched: the first photocomposed national newspaper in Britain.
• 1982 - Oct 17 : Sulyn launched: first Welsh-language Sunday newspaper. Ceased publication in January 1983.
• 1984 : Robert Maxwell buys the Mirror Group.
• 1984 - Oct 2: Daily News (Birmingham) launched by Chris and Pat Bullivant. The UK's first free daily title.
• 1985 : Daily Telegraph bought by Conrad Black.
• 1986 : News International moves all national titles to its new plant at Wapping.
• 1986 - March 4 : Today launched by Eddy Shah, first national colour newspaper.
• 1986 - Sept 14 : Sunday Sport launched.
• 1986 - Oct 7 : Independent launched.
• 1987 : Today bought by Rupert Murdoch.
• 1987 : First women editors of national newspapers in modern times: Wendy Henry (News of the World) and Eve Pollard (Sunday Mirror).
• 1987 - Feb 24 : London Daily News launched by Robert Maxwell: the first attempt at a 24-hour newspaper in Britain. Ceased publication on 23 July.
• 1987 - April 26 : News on Sunday launched. Ceased publication in November.
• 1988 - Aug 7: Scotland on Sunday launched.
• 1988 - Aug 17 : Sport launched, initially appearing every Wednesday.
• 1989 - March 5 : Wales on Sunday launched in Cardiff.
• 1989 - Sept 17 : Sunday Correspondent launched. Ceased publication 25 November 1990.
• 1990 - Jan 28 : Independent on Sunday launched.
• 1990 - May 11 : European launched by Robert Maxwell. Ceased publication on 14 December 1998.
• 1991 : Press Complaints Commission replaces the Press Council.
• 1991 - Oct 7 : Sport becomes daily.
• 1991 - Nov 5 : Death of Robert Maxwell.
• 1992 : Dundee Courier becomes the last daily in Britain to put news not advertisements on its front page.
• 1993 : Observer bought by Guardian Media Group.
• 1994 - Nov : Electronic Telegraph launched: first British national on the Internet.
• 1995 - Nov 17 : Today ceases publication: first national to close since the Daily Sketch.
• 1996 - April 21: Sunday Business launched.
• 1997 - Nov 11 : Shetland Times versus Shetland News: Scotland's test case on Internet links, settled out of court, permits the News, under certain conditions, to link to stories on the Times's website.
• 1998 - March 15 : Sport First launched: Britain's first national Sunday newspaper dedicated to sport.
• 1998 - May 17 : Death of Hugh, Lord Cudlipp of Aldingbourne, who first joined the Daily Mirror in 1935.
• 1998 - June 10 : Death of Sir David English, the editor who transformed the fortunes of the Daily Mail.
• 1998 - Sept 1 : Death of Vere Harmsworth, Third Viscount Rothermere.
• 1999 - Feb 7: Sunday Herald (Glasgow) launched
• 1999 - March 16 : Metro launched: a daily newspaper distributed free to travellers on the London Underground.
• 1999 - March : The Heritage Lottery Fund awards NEWSPLAN a grant of £5 million.
• 2000 - Sept 20 : Business a.m. launched: the first new, daily newspaper in Scotland for 100 years.

Newspaper Library News Winter 1998/1999
British Library Newspaper Library
Copyright ©1999, The British Library Board