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The Sun

The Sun is the red-top (downmarket tabloid newspaper; the label comes from the mastheads these papers typically bear, with white letters on a bright red background) par excellence, although it’s comparatively new on the scene, being founded in 1964. It’s infamous for its sensational headlines such as “Gotcha!” (on the sinking of the Argentinian destroyer General Belgrano during the Falklands War) and “Phew! What a scorcher” – and its Page Three pictures of topless girls.

Originally launched as a left-of-centre broadsheet, it switched to tabloid format upon Rupert Murdoch’s takeover of the paper in 1969, and moved to the political right during the course of the 1970s, providing strong support to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives throughout her leadership of that party and, indeed, to John Major in the 1992 election. It shifted its support to Labour for the general elections in 1997, 2001 and 2005, although the support was fairly lukewarm (some might say opportunist) – then shifted back again in September 2009 (some might definitely say opportunist).

That said, its political content is pretty superficial. Much more of the paper is taken up with celebrity gossip, sport, bizarre news stories, and games of chance like the National Lottery and its own Sun Bingo service.

It’s reviled by many on the left as often verging on the xenophobic, the sexist and the boorish. It’s also attracted a good deal of criticism in various parts of the country for its controversial coverage of locally sensitive issues; for instance, it’s unpopular in former mining districts for its support of the Thatcher government during the 1984-85 miners’ strike, and many Liverpool newsagents refuse to stock it because of its allegations that Liverpool fans caught up in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster urinated on the police and robbed the dying.

There’s a separate edition for Scotland, The Scottish Sun, as well as Irish and Overseas editions.

It’s the only British newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch whose website remains free to view; all the others are now behind paywalls.

Besides the main site and mobile-friendly site, there are also apps for Android smartphone and iPad users, with an iPhone version coming soon as of January 2012.

  • Address:
  • The Sun
    3 Thomas More Square
    LONDON
    E98 1XY
  • Tel:
  • 020 7782 4000
  • Fax:
  • 020 7782 4170

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This entry was last updated on Thursday 19 January 2012 at 00:04 GMT and is filed under National - red-tops. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can trackback from your own site.


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