European Journalism Observatory’ Miryam Nadkarni wrote recently about the “reasons for the UK’s yellow press victory.” According to its website, the observatory, created in 2004, is a nonprofit media project to “build bridges among journalism cultures in Europe and the U.S.” by “analyzing research and trends in the media industry.”
According to Nadkarni:
“In almost every European country a tabloid paper has managed to seize the crown for the highest circulation. It’s comforting to know that in many European nations (Sweden, France, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal to name a few) at least one broadsheet holds strong among the three most-read daily newspapers. Unfortunately this doesn’t hold true in the United Kingdom.”
Noting that the “three most popular daily papers” in the United Kingdom are tabloids, Nadkarni cited journalism professor John Tulloch who stated that UK tabloids are successful in part because of “class distinction in British society.”
Tulloch is quoted as saying:
“Broadsheets are designed for middle class people. Tabloids are aimed at working class people. Reliable popular news has been provided in a much more trustworthy way by the BBC and other broadcasters. Since the rise of the BBC, ordinary people have not needed newspapers for basic news.”