Sheffield Star
Encyclopedia
The Star, often known as the Sheffield Star is a daily newspaper
published in Sheffield
, England
, from Monday to Saturday each week. Originally a broadsheet
, the newspaper became a tabloid in 1989. The Star, the weekly Sheffield Telegraph
and the Green 'Un are published by Sheffield Newspapers Ltd (owned by Johnston Press
), based at York Street in Sheffield City Centre
.
The Star is marketed in South Yorkshire
, North Derbyshire
and North Nottinghamshire
and reaches its readers through its main edition and district edition for Doncaster
. The Rotherham
and Barnsley
district editions closed in 2008. The total average issue readership for The Star is 105,498.
The newspaper which subsequently became The Star began as the Sheffield Evening Telegraph, the first edition of which was published on 7 June 1887. It soon took over its only local rival, the Sheffield Evening Star, and from June 1888 to December 1897 it was known as the Evening Telegraph and Star and Sheffield Daily Times, then from 1898 to October 1937 as the Yorkshire Telegraph and Star. In 1931, it took over the Sheffield Mail, which had been its main rival since 1920. From 1937 to November 1938, the newspaper became the Telegraph & Star, and finally, from 14 November 1938 as The Star.
In April 1989, the newspaper sparked controversy with its reporting on the Hillsborough disaster
which occurred in the city and in which 96 Liverpool F.C.
fans were fatally injured at an FA Cup
semi-final tie. It claimed that the key factor of the tragedy was the drunkenness of Liverpool fans. These claims were met with outrage by Liverpool fans, particularly when it was established that police loss of crowd control and the presence of perimeter fencing between the stands and the pitch were the key factors in the tragedy, although the newspaper which caused the most offence for its reporting was The Sun.
Johnston Press began printing The Star at their new £60 million printing plant in Dinnington
, near Rotherham, in September 2006. The plant includes the first 'triple width' newspaper press in the UK. The plant also prints not only several other Johnston Press titles, including the Sheffield Telegraph, Scarborough Evening News, Wakefield Express, Derbyshire Times
, and Chesterfield Advertiser, but also a number of external publications, including The Sun and News of the World for News International.
In March 2006, The Star sports writer Martin Smith received a top national award at the British Sports Journalism Awards, a long-standing event with a tradition of over 30 years. He was named Regional Sports Writer of the Year, for the second time in three years, by the Sports Journalists' Association of Great Britain.
The current editor of The Star is Jeremy Clifford. John Furbisher, former editor of the Halifax Evening Courier, held the position previously after Alan Powell retired in 2010.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, from Monday to Saturday each week. Originally a broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
, the newspaper became a tabloid in 1989. The Star, the weekly Sheffield Telegraph
Sheffield Telegraph
The Sheffield Telegraph is a weekly newspaper published in Sheffield, England.-History:Founded in 1855 as the Sheffield Daily Telegraph, it was the city's first daily newspaper, published at 08:00 each morning. The newspaper struggled until W. C...
and the Green 'Un are published by Sheffield Newspapers Ltd (owned by Johnston Press
Johnston Press
Johnston Press plc is a newspaper publishing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its flagship titles are The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post; it also operates many other newspapers around the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is the second-largest publisher...
), based at York Street in Sheffield City Centre
Sheffield City Centre
Sheffield City Centre—often just referred to as town—is a district of the City of Sheffield, and part of the Sheffield Central ward. It includes the area that is within a radius of roughly of Sheffield Cathedral, and is encircled by the Inner Ring Road—a circular route started in the late 1960s...
.
The Star is marketed in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, North Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
and North Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
and reaches its readers through its main edition and district edition for Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
. The Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
and Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
district editions closed in 2008. The total average issue readership for The Star is 105,498.
In April 1989, the newspaper sparked controversy with its reporting on the Hillsborough disaster
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
which occurred in the city and in which 96 Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
fans were fatally injured at an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
semi-final tie. It claimed that the key factor of the tragedy was the drunkenness of Liverpool fans. These claims were met with outrage by Liverpool fans, particularly when it was established that police loss of crowd control and the presence of perimeter fencing between the stands and the pitch were the key factors in the tragedy, although the newspaper which caused the most offence for its reporting was The Sun.
Johnston Press began printing The Star at their new £60 million printing plant in Dinnington
Dinnington
Dinnington is a town in rural South Yorkshire, England, and part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. It is roughly equidistant from Sheffield, Rotherham and Worksop, and is located at an elevation of about 100 metres above sea level....
, near Rotherham, in September 2006. The plant includes the first 'triple width' newspaper press in the UK. The plant also prints not only several other Johnston Press titles, including the Sheffield Telegraph, Scarborough Evening News, Wakefield Express, Derbyshire Times
Derbyshire Times
The Derbyshire Times is a weekly local newspaper published in northern Derbyshire, each edition being on sale from Thursday. Its headquarters are in Chesterfield and much of its coverage centres on the town and the surrounding area. The newspaper also covers parts of the Peak District and Amber...
, and Chesterfield Advertiser, but also a number of external publications, including The Sun and News of the World for News International.
In March 2006, The Star sports writer Martin Smith received a top national award at the British Sports Journalism Awards, a long-standing event with a tradition of over 30 years. He was named Regional Sports Writer of the Year, for the second time in three years, by the Sports Journalists' Association of Great Britain.
The current editor of The Star is Jeremy Clifford. John Furbisher, former editor of the Halifax Evening Courier, held the position previously after Alan Powell retired in 2010.