The Times
The Times is the oldest British national daily, founded in 1785 as the Daily Universal Register and printed daily (except Sundays) since 1788.
For much of that time it’s been regarded as the United Kingdom’s primary newspaper of record, if you disregard official gazettes. For that reason, it’s known affectionately as “The Thunderer” and still considered to be the paper of the Establishment (though that perception’s about as up to date as the one of City gents still wearing bowler hats and pinstripe trousers). It’s been Rupert Murdoch’s heavyweight vehicle in the UK ever since News International took it over in 1981, following a major industrial dispute which closed it down for nearly a year in 1978-79.
Politically it tends to be conservative, though it’s surpassed in this by the Daily Telegraph by quite some distance. It supported the Blair government in the 2001 and 2005 general elections, though whether that constituted a switch away from the Tories is a matter for debate among those on the Left.
It was historically a broadsheet newspaper, but brought out a tabloid (”compact”) format version in 2003 which was sold alongside the broadsheet. Controversially, it switched to tabloid-only publication in 2004, having made a commitment earlier to its readers that it would do no such thing.
Website: http://www.the-times.co.uk
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