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Today (UK newspaper)
Encyclopedia
Today was a national newspaper
in the United Kingdom, which was published between 1986 and 1995.
as inspiration, launched on Tuesday, 4 March 1986, with the front page headline, "Second Spy Inside GCHQ". At 18 pence, it was a middle-market tabloid, a rival to the long-established Daily Mail
and Daily Express
. It pioneered computer photosetting and full-colour offset printing
at a time when national newspapers were still using Linotype machine
s and letterpress. The colour was initially crude, produced on equipment which had no facility for colour proofing, so the first view of the colour was on the finished product. However, it forced the conversion of all UK national newspapers to electronic production and colour printing. The newspaper's motto, hung in the newsroom, was "propa truth, not propaganda".
Launched by regional newspaper entrepreneur Eddy Shah
, it was bought by Tiny Rowland
's Lonrho within four months. (Shah would launch the short-lived, unsuccessful national tabloid The Post in 1988.) Alastair Campbell
was political editor and his partner, Fiona Millar was news editor.
The newspaper began a sponsorship of the English Football League at the start of 1986-87
, but withdrew after a season. Today was sold to Rupert Murdoch
's News International
in 1987.
Today ceased on Friday, 17 November 1995, the first long-running national newspaper title to fail since the Daily Sketch
in 1971. The last edition's headline was "Goodbye. It's been great to know you", the editorial saying "... Now we are forced into silence by the granite and unforgiving face of the balance sheet...". Its offices are now used by one of News International's other papers, The Sun
.
Richard Stott
was editor when Today ceased publication; he died in July 2007. Other journalists at the close included Peter Prendergast (city editor), Anne Robinson
(columnist), Barry Wigmore (US editor, based in New York), David McMaster (managing editor) and Tony Banks
(football correspondent).
s was in 1988, when it portrayed Nigel Lawson
as a terminator, accompanied by the headline Nigel the Great Tax Terminator in reference to his tax
cuts in that year's budget
.
In the early 1990s the newspaper printed a column attacking the city of Liverpool
and its inhabitants which was accompanied by a photograph showing a large rubbish tip directly behind the city's iconic Liver Buildings. In fact, no such rubbish tip existed anywhere in the vicinity of the Liver Buildings; it subsequently emerged that the photograph was a fake created from a composite
of image
s of the buildings and a rubbish tip not in Liverpool, although the photograph's caption
implied that the image illustrated the supposed poor upkeep of the city. Despite these revelations, the newspaper did not inform its readers of the deception
or print a correction
.
The newspaper closed shortly after a front page story on the Oklahoma City bombing
showed a fireman
carrying the body of a young girl under the headline "IN THE NAME OF ALLAH", which proved embarrassing when it was found that the bombing had been perpetrated by American survivalists
, not Muslim
militants.
In 1996 Hugh Grant
won damages from News (UK) Ltd over what his lawyers called a "highly defamatory" article in January 1995. The newspaper had falsely claimed that Grant verbally abused a young extra
with a "foul-mouthed tongue lashing" on the set of The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
.
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...
in the United Kingdom, which was published between 1986 and 1995.
History
Today, with the American newspaper USA TodayUSA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
as inspiration, launched on Tuesday, 4 March 1986, with the front page headline, "Second Spy Inside GCHQ". At 18 pence, it was a middle-market tabloid, a rival to the long-established Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
and Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
. It pioneered computer photosetting and full-colour offset printing
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
at a time when national newspapers were still using Linotype machine
Linotype machine
The Linotype typesetting machine is a "line casting" machine used in printing. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once, hence a line-o'-type, a significant improvement over manual typesetting....
s and letterpress. The colour was initially crude, produced on equipment which had no facility for colour proofing, so the first view of the colour was on the finished product. However, it forced the conversion of all UK national newspapers to electronic production and colour printing. The newspaper's motto, hung in the newsroom, was "propa truth, not propaganda".
Launched by regional newspaper entrepreneur Eddy Shah
Eddy Shah
Selim Jehan Shah , commonly known as Eddy Shah or Eddie Shah, is a Manchester-based businessman, the founder of the then technologically-advanced UK newspaper Today in 1986, and of the extremely short-lived tabloid The Post, and current owner of the Messenger Group.Shah was born in Cambridge of an...
, it was bought by Tiny Rowland
Tiny Rowland
Roland "Tiny" Rowland was a British businessman and chairman of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1994...
's Lonrho within four months. (Shah would launch the short-lived, unsuccessful national tabloid The Post in 1988.) Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell
Alastair John Campbell is a British journalist, broadcaster, political aide and author, best known for his work as Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003, having first started working for Blair in 1994...
was political editor and his partner, Fiona Millar was news editor.
The newspaper began a sponsorship of the English Football League at the start of 1986-87
1986-87 in English football
The 1986–87 season was the 107th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The First Division championship went to Everton in their final season under the management of Howard Kendall before his departure to Athletic Bilbao. His side overcame a spate of injuries to fight off...
, but withdrew after a season. Today was sold to Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
in 1987.
Today ceased on Friday, 17 November 1995, the first long-running national newspaper title to fail since the Daily Sketch
Daily Sketch
The Daily Sketch was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton.It was bought in 1920 by Lord Rothermere's Daily Mirror Newspapers but in 1925 Rothermere offloaded it to William and Gomer Berry The Daily Sketch was a British national tabloid newspaper,...
in 1971. The last edition's headline was "Goodbye. It's been great to know you", the editorial saying "... Now we are forced into silence by the granite and unforgiving face of the balance sheet...". Its offices are now used by one of News International's other papers, The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
.
Richard Stott
Richard Stott
Richard Keith Stott was a British journalist and editor.Born in Oxford, he attended Clifton College in Bristol. He started his journalistic career in 1963...
was editor when Today ceased publication; he died in July 2007. Other journalists at the close included Peter Prendergast (city editor), Anne Robinson
Anne Robinson
Anne Josephine Robinson is an English journalist and television presenter, known for her assertive views and acerbic style of presenting. She was one of the presenters on the long-running British consumer affairs series, Watchdog, from 1993 to 2001 before returning in 2009...
(columnist), Barry Wigmore (US editor, based in New York), David McMaster (managing editor) and Tony Banks
Tony Banks, Baron Stratford
Anthony Louis Banks, Baron Stratford was a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament from 1983 to 2005, before being made a Member of the House of Lords. In government, he served for two years as Minister for Sport...
(football correspondent).
Controversies
One of the newspaper's early controversial front page photographPhotograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s was in 1988, when it portrayed Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, PC , is a British Conservative politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974–92, and served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of Margaret Thatcher from June 1983 to October 1989...
as a terminator, accompanied by the headline Nigel the Great Tax Terminator in reference to his tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
cuts in that year's budget
United Kingdom budget
The United Kingdom budget deals with HM Treasury budgeting the revenues gathered by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and expenditures of public sector departments, in compliance with government policy.Adjustment is achieved with the GDP deflator....
.
In the early 1990s the newspaper printed a column attacking the city of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and its inhabitants which was accompanied by a photograph showing a large rubbish tip directly behind the city's iconic Liver Buildings. In fact, no such rubbish tip existed anywhere in the vicinity of the Liver Buildings; it subsequently emerged that the photograph was a fake created from a composite
Digital compositing
Digital compositing is the process of digitally assembling multiple images to make a final image, typically for print, motion pictures or screen display...
of image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
s of the buildings and a rubbish tip not in Liverpool, although the photograph's caption
Caption
Caption may refer to:*Caption , a small press and independent comic convention held annually in Oxford, England*Closed captioning, used to provide the text of a show's audio portion to those who may have trouble hearing it...
implied that the image illustrated the supposed poor upkeep of the city. Despite these revelations, the newspaper did not inform its readers of the deception
Deception
Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, bad faith, and subterfuge are acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth . Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment...
or print a correction
Correction
Correction may refer to:* An euphemism for punishment* Correction , the posting of a notice of a mistake in a past issue of a newspaper* Correction , in financial markets, a short-term price decline...
.
The newspaper closed shortly after a front page story on the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
showed a fireman
Fireman
Fireman may refer to::* Firefighter, person who extinguishes fires and rescues people from harms way.* Fire Safety Officer, a senior ranking firefighter or Fire Safety Inspector in the UK...
carrying the body of a young girl under the headline "IN THE NAME OF ALLAH", which proved embarrassing when it was found that the bombing had been perpetrated by American survivalists
Survivalism
Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups who are actively preparing for future possible disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order...
, not Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
militants.
In 1996 Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
won damages from News (UK) Ltd over what his lawyers called a "highly defamatory" article in January 1995. The newspaper had falsely claimed that Grant verbally abused a young extra
Extra
Extra, extras or xtra may refer to:* Extra , a performer who appears in a nonspeaking capacity* Extra , a term in the sport of cricket* Extra , a brand of chewing gum...
with a "foul-mouthed tongue lashing" on the set of The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain is a 1995 film written by Ivor Monger and directed by Christopher Monger. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival....
.
Editors
- 1986: Brian MacArthurBrian MacArthurBrian MacArthur is a British former newspaper editor.MacArthur studied at Brentwood School, Helsby Grammar School and the University of Leeds. In 1962, he entered journalism, his first job being at the Yorkshire Post...
- 1987: Dennis Hackett
- 1987: David MontgomeryDavid Montgomery (newspaper executive)David Montgomery is a British newspaper editor, executive, proprietor and media investor....
- 1991: Martin DunnMartin DunnMartin Dunn is a British newspaper editor.Dunn attended Dudley Grammar School, then started his journalistic career on the Dudley Herald. In 1977, he moved to the Birmingham Evening Mail, then the Birmingham Post, and the Daily Mail. After a period as a freelance, he joined The Sun in 1983, as...
- 1993: Richard StottRichard StottRichard Keith Stott was a British journalist and editor.Born in Oxford, he attended Clifton College in Bristol. He started his journalistic career in 1963...