The common perception of it is still as a paper read by retired colonels in south-east English villages, although it’s made some efforts to appear more trendy in recent years (these efforts are mercilessly lampooned by satirical magazine Private Eye as consisting mostly of photos of Liz Hurley and other “posh tottie”).

In spite of continuing pressure from The Times, it’s the broadsheet with the biggest circulation – nearly 850,000 in January 2009, compared to The Times‘s 617,000. Actually, since most of the other national dailies have now switched to a smaller format (easier for commuters to deal with on the increasingly crowded British trains), technically it’s the only national broadsheet on traditional paper. (The Financial Times is still a broadsheet, but of course is famously printed on salmon-pink paper.)

It’s part of the Telegraph Media Group Ltd, which was owned by Canadian businessman Conrad, Lord Black from 1986 to 2004, at which point he sold it to the Press Holdings company owned by the Barclay twins (Sir Frederick and Sir David).

Since 1961 it’s had a companion Sunday title, the Sunday Telegraph.

Daily Telegraph is a post from: British Newspapers Online

It was founded in 1699, eight years before the Act of Union, but was produced sporadically until 1793, since when it’s been published continuously.

It’s published by TSO on behalf of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. It’s one of a series of Gazettes for the whole United Kingdom; The Belfast Gazette and The London Gazette perform the same function for Scotland and England & Wales respectively.

The Edinburgh Gazette is a post from: British Newspapers Online

As the name implies, it focuses strongly on economic matters, restricting its news coverage to the weightiest national and international events. It’s also very much an international paper; it started publishing in Frankfurt in January 1979 and now has editions printed in 23 cities (as of 2007), of which all but two are outside the UK.

It’s pretty much neutral politically. Its economic focus means it’s seen to be the paper of business and entrepreneurship and thus to have a slight bias to the right; nevertheless its factual, non-partisan reporting of political events and its pro-Europe editorial stance (together with a perceived shift towards Labour) mean that it’s popular with readers from across the political spectrum.

Its famous salmon-pink colour (which has been adopted overseas by several other newspapers with an economic focus) arose simply because at the time the salmon-pink newsprint was cheaper than white. It remains one of very few daily broadsheets in the United Kingdom.

It merged with its rival, the slightly older Financial News (first published in 1884), in 1945.

It’s published by international media group Pearson plc, who also own the well-known book publishers Penguin.

So far it’s the only British newspaper to have a paywall in place; casual visitors may read no more than one article in 30 days before being asked to register free of charge (which allows access to up to 10 articles in 30 days) or pay to subscribe (which allows full access).

Financial Times is a post from: British Newspapers Online

Originally founded in 1821 as the Manchester Guardian, it went national (and dropped the Manchester) in 1959. The editor moved to London in 1964, initially to Fleet Street and then to offices in Farringdon in 1976; it’s been at its present address in King’s Cross since 2008.

The Guardian has been owned by the same company since 1907, although the company’s undergone a series of name changes; it was initially the Manchester Guardian Ltd, then became the Manchester Guardian and Evening News Ltd following the purchase of the Manchester Evening News in 1924 (and then the Guardian and Manchester Evening News Ltd following the 1959 name change). It’s been known as the Guardian Media Group since 1993, and has remained based in Manchester despite the move of The Guardian‘s editorial staff to London.

It’s traditionally been a paper of social protest: its 1821 prospectus declared that it would “zealously enforce the principles of civil and religious Liberty … it will warmly advocate the cause of Reform; it will endeavour to assist in the diffusion of just principles of Political Economy; and to support, without reference to the party from which they emanate, all serviceable measures.” It’s not departed from that stance ever since and is commonly seen as a favourite with students, teachers, social workers, hippies and bleeding-heart pinko liberals in general. It’s generally pro-European, pro-welfare state, pro-civil rights; and has been conducting a concerted campaign for the United Kingdom to become a republic for a number of years now.

It claims – with some justification – to have made a bigger shift to web-based reporting than any other paper; as of December 2009 its website attracts more traffic than any other British newspaper. It was also the first of the national heavyweight dailies to switch to a “Berliner” format, in September 2005, with modern presses enabling it to print in colour on every page (although the Northern Ireland edition is still largely in black-and-white).

In its early days as a national newspaper it picked up a reputation for containing typesetting errors, which also earned it the affectionate (or contemptuous) nickname of The Grauniad from Private Eye.

The Guardian is a post from: British Newspapers Online

It leans slightly to the Left, though not as much as The Guardian – from time to time its editorials cover issues dearer to the political Right.

It was the first of the national quality papers to publish in full in a tabloid format, in 2003 (The Guardian had already been publishing its G2 section as a tabloid for several years before that), although it prefers to describe the format in rather mealy-mouthed fashion as “compact”. For a few months it offered both broadsheet and tabloid, before winding up its broadsheet version in May 2004.

It’s attracted some comment for its practice in recent years of devoting its front page to editorial comment, which has earned it the somewhat negative description of being a “viewspaper” rather than a newspaper.

In March 2010 it was sold by Independent News & Media to Independent Print Ltd, a company owned by Russian businessman and former KGB officer Aleksandr Lebedev (who bought the London Evening Standard in January 2009).

The Independent is a post from: British Newspapers Online

It was briefly edited by ex-1980s “yoof” TV presenter Janet Street-Porter between 1999 and 2002.

The name Independent on Sunday was chosen to avoid confusion with the Sunday Independent, the Sunday edition of the Irish Independent.

In March 2010 it was sold by Independent News & Media to Independent Print Ltd, a company owned by Russian businessman and former KGB officer Aleksandr Lebedev (who bought the London Evening Standard in January 2009).

It shares a website with the daily version.

Independent on Sunday is a post from: British Newspapers Online

It was founded in 1665 as the Oxford Gazette – King Charles II having shifted his court there temporarily to escape the Great Plague in London – and took on its present title a few months later. It’s published by TSO on behalf of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

Besides being the Official Newspaper of Record for the UK, it fills the same function for England & Wales; The Edinburgh Gazette and The Belfast Gazette perform the same role for Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

The London Gazette is a post from: British Newspapers Online

It became part of the Guardian Media Group in 1993 after many years of being the only quality Sunday paper which wasn’t simply the Sunday edition of a daily. But it still has its own distinctive feel – it isn’t just a Sunday Guardian. Its political stance, though still left-of-centre as you’d expect, tends to be a little to the right of its sister paper – for instance, it supported British participation in the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003.

The Observer converted to “Berliner” format (tabloid width, but taller pages) in January 2006.

In 2009 there was a well-publicised campaign to “Save The Observer“, in the face of widespread rumours that it was about to be closed by the Guardian Media Group in favour of a “Sunday Guardian” to cut the group’s losses.

The Observer is a post from: British Newspapers Online

In 1989 it briefly became simply the Sunday edition of the Daily Telegraph under Max Hastings’s overall control. Otherwise, like most of the Sunday versions of the national daily press it’s had its own editor and staff.

Along with the Daily Telegraph, in 2005 it became the first of the national titles that moved to Canary Wharf in the 1980s to move back into central London.

Sunday Telegraph is a post from: British Newspapers Online

It was the first of the Sundays to publish a colour supplement, as long ago as the early 1960s. It appears in broadsheet format and will continue to do so, according to its editorial staff, although its sister paper The Times shifted to tabloid shortly after making a similar commitment.

Perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t until 1966 that the Sunday Times and The Times came into common ownership. Both titles passed into Rupert Murdoch’s ownership in 1981; but the takeover was not referred to the Monopolies & Mergers Commission, perhaps because the Thatcher government feared that the newspapers might close altogether (as outgoing owner Lord Thomson had threatened) if the change of ownership was subjected to a lengthy legal process.

It used to share a website with The Times, but gained its own web presence in June 2010 when both sites started charging for online content (£1 for a day’s access, £2 for one week, although as of mid-June 2010 a free preview was available).

Sunday Times is a post from: British Newspapers Online