Magazines

A large range of magazines are sold in the UK covering most interests and potential topics. British magazines and journals that have achieved worldwide circulation include The Economist, Nature, and New Scientist, Private Eye, Hello!, The Spectator, the Radio Times andNME.

Newspapers

Traditionally British newspapers have been divided into "quality", serious-minded newspapers (usually referred to as "broadsheets" because of their large size) and the more populist, "tabloid" varieties. For convenience of reading many traditional broadsheets have switched to a morecompact-sized format, traditionally used by tabloids. In 2008 The Sun had the highest circulation of any daily newspaper in the UK at 3.1 million, approximately a quarter of the market.^[11] Its sister paper, the News of the World, had the highest circulation in the Sunday newspaper market,^[11] and traditionally focused on celebrity-led stories until its closure in 2011.^[12] The Daily Telegraph, a centre-right broadsheet paper, is the highest-selling of the "quality" newspapers.^[11] The Guardian is a more liberal "quality" broadsheet and the Financial Times is the main business newspaper, printed on distinctive salmon-pink broadsheet paper.^[13] Trinity Mirror operate 240 local and regional newspapers in the UK, as well as national newspapers such as the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror.^[14]

Scotland has a distinct tradition of newspaper readership (see list of newspapers in Scotland). The tabloid Daily Record has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper outselling The Scottish Sun by four to one while its sister paper, the Sunday Mail similarly leads the Sunday newspaper market. The leading "quality" daily newspaper in Scotland is The Herald, though it is the sister paper of The Scotsman, and the Scotland on Sunday that leads in the Sunday newspaper market.

Print

The UK publishing sector, including books, directories and databases, journals, magazines and business media, newspapers and news agencies, has a combined turnover of around £20 billion and employs around 167,000 people.

Media centres and organisations

London dominates the media sector in the UK: national newspapers and television and radio are largely based there, although Manchester is also a significant national media centre. Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Cardiff, are important centres of newspaper and broadcasting production in Scotland and Wales respectively.^[4]

The BBC, founded in 1922, is the UK's publicly funded radio, television and Internet broadcasting corporation, and is the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world. It operates numerous television and radio stations in the UK and abroad and its domestic services are funded by thetelevision licence.^[5][6] Other major players in the UK media include ITV plc, which operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network,^[7] and News Corporation, which owns a number of national newspapers through News International such as the most popular tabloid The Sun and the longest-established daily "broadsheet" The Times,^[8] as well as holding a large stake in satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting.^[9]

Audiences

In 2009 it was estimated that individuals viewed a mean of 3.75 hours of television per day and 2.81 hours of radio. The main BBC public service broadcasting channels accounted for and estimated 28.4% of all television viewing; the three main independent channels accounted for 29.5% and the increasingly important other satellite and digital channels for the remaining 42.1%.^[1] Sales of newspapers have fallen since the 1970s and in 2009 42% of people reported reading a daily national newspaper.^[2] In 2010 82.5% of the UK population were Internet users, the highest proportion amongst the 20 countries with the largest total number of users in that year.^[3]

Media of the United Kingdom consist of several different types of communications media: television,radio, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. The UK also has a strong music industry. The UK has a diverse range of providers, the most prominent being principle public service broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The BBC's competitors include ITV plc, which operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network. News Corporation, who operate a number of leader national newspapers through News International such as The Sun and The Times as well as holding a large stake in satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting and various other media holdings. Regional media is covered by local radio, television and print newspapers. Trinity Mirror operate 240 local and regional newspapers in the UK, as well as national newspapers such as the Daily Mirrorand the Sunday Mirror.