NEWSPAPERS (see 19.544). (i) GREAT BRITAIN. The ac- count of English journalism given in the earlier article brought its history practically down to the moment when in 1908 Lord Northcliffe had become chief proprietor of The Times. In later years the newer developments in daily and weekly journalism, which may be said to have begun with the establishment of the Dally Mail in 1896, were seen in extended operation. Every newspaper endeavoured to make a broader appeal than formerly in the desire to attract the ever-increasing body of readers pro- duced by the Education Act, which wants matter served up in a fashion markedly different from that which was usual when, taken as a whole, the comparatively small newspaper-reading public was composed of educated people. As Mr. Gladstone remarked years ago, " The press, which was formerly the privilege of the educated classes, has become the patrimony of the people." Also, women had become regular readers, and, in order to in- crease circulation, it was necessary to cater to their tastes. The general tendency, consequently, has been to be less academic and more and more personal and " snappy." The use of the editorial " we," and all that it implies in the way of detachment, real or affected, is rapidly passing away, and the old-fashioned " leader " is going the way of all things. Most present-day readers want news, not opinions. The " tit-bits " style of presentation is apparently what is best liked by the majority, and as the majority pays the piper, proprietors for the most part let it call the tune. For instance, there have been very radical changes in parlia- mentary reporting. In 1909 practically every paper of impor- tance had its own corps of reporters, but now most papers obtain their reports from a newsagency and few devote much space to them; and there is this justification for the change, that nowadays more people read the summary of parliamentary proceedings which is generally given than the full report. In nearly all London daily papers illustrations are inserted, either regularly or occasionally, and at least one paper with a very great circulation has given over its back page entirely to the reproduction of photographs of current events, except for a sprinkling of ad- vertisements. Also, these papers usually devote a page or a column to gossipy paragraphs, fashions, and other topics specially interesting to women, and even other features likely to attract children, and so on. Further, they print serially from time to time books that have a wide interest, such as Ludendorff's Reminiscences and the memoirs of Mrs. Asquith and M. de Witte.
The struggle for existence of newspapers has been vastly intensified. As a result of the World War, the price of paper was very much greater, and so also the cost of printing, and the general upkeep. The salaries of the editorial staff have risen, and wages have gone up still more materially. This has been met only to a limited extent by the increase in the selling price of the newspapers the halfpenny press has disappeared and now (1921) charges one penny, while the selling price of the former penny paper has been doubled.
The comparative statistics of British newspaper publications show the following growth between 1909 and 1920. In 1909 there were in the United Kingdom 2,322 newspapers, distributed as follows: London, 386, of which 31 were dailies; provinces, 1,365, including 125 dailies, without localized editions; Wales, in, including 8 dailies; Scotland, 260, including 18 dailies; Ireland, 185, including 17 dailies; Isles, 15, including 4 dailies. In 1920 there were in the United Kingdom 2,293 newspapers distributed as follows: London, within the postal radius, 440, of which 25 were morning dailies and 7 evening dailies; the English and Welsh provinces, including localized issues, 1,425, of which 41 were morning and 83 evening dailies; Scotland, 235, including 9 morning and 10 evening dailies; Ireland, 179, including 10 morn- ing and 6 evening dailies; Isles, 14, of which 5 were dailies.
The most notable events in the newspaper world during the decade 1910-20 were: (i) the rise of the cheap illustrated papers, due to the introduction of the half-tone block and improved photographic and reproduction methods; (2) the great increase in the circulation of Sunday papers; and (3) the great increase in the circulation of evening papers in London and the provinces. It is not generally realized what large quantities of evening
papers are sold, and that the circulation of evening papers much exceeds the circulation of the morning papers, with the exception of the few morning papers that have national sales.
In the matter of the development of journalism as a profession or business, it is interesting to note how the principle of trade- unionism has crept in. In so far, the relations between a pro- prietor and his staff have materially altered. The proprietors are just as interested in their papers as ever, and keep a tight rein on the policy, a rein at least as tight as, and perhaps tighter in many cases, than a generation earlier. Then, such men as John Walter, the first Lord Burnham and Lord Glenesk were in regular touch with their editors and managers, and now such men as Viscount Northcliffe, Viscount Burnham, Viscount Rothermere, and Lord Riddell very definitely control their papers.
In other ways, however, there has come about a distinct, though not necessarily unfriendly, cleavage between the em- ployers and the employees of all kinds, owing to the fact that the trade unions have become one of the most important factors in the newspaper trade at the present time. The owners of London daily, evening, and Sunday papers have formed the Newspaper Proprietors' Association, which deals as a body with questions in which they are jointly interested, such as labour matters, cable charges, and railway facilities. The association was represented at the Peace Conference, and acted through its representatives as a liaison between the British delegates and the British press. The owners of periodicals, magazines, and the trade papers are banded together under the style of the Weekly Newspapers and Periodicals Proprietors. In the provinces, the proprietors are linked up in the Newspaper Society, the Northern Federation of Newspapers, the Southern Federation of Newspapers, the Scot- tish Newspaper Proprietors' Association, the Irish Newspaper Society, and the Associated Irish Newspapers. Manchester has its Newspaper Federation, and Ireland its Irish Master Printers' Association. There is, further, a British Association of Trade and Technical Journals, Ltd.
The journalists, too, besides the old-established Institute of Journalists, have now another organization, the object of which is to better the position of the journalist, to secure for him a reasonable security of the tenure of his post, and to enforce minimum salaries for the different kinds of work, which minimum rate, however, varies according to the locality, London rates being distinctly higher than those in the provinces. This union keeps a very close control over its members, as is shown by a recent notice: " Members of the National Union of Journalists who accept any new position without first informing the General Secretary are liable to be expelled from the Union. This is necessary owing to the great variety of recognized local rates." There is also a Society of Woman Journalists. The British International Association of Journalists works on behalf of journalists of all countries, and has organized international press conferences; and the Empire Press Union works on behalf of the press of Great Britain, the Dominions and Colonies.
In the provinces the whole of the trades are represented by one body, called the National Printing and Kindred Trades Federa- tion. In London each trade has its own union the compositors, stereotypers, and so on but they are all welded together for certain purposes in the London Printing Trades Federation. One of the most remarkable newspaper incidents of modern years was the Lancashire strike or lock-out in 1920, which resulted in the newspapers of that district suspending publication for nine days.
The newsagents have their organizations the Federation of Wholesale Newsagents and the National Federation of Retail Newsagents. Other societies directly interested in newspapers are, on the one side, the Association of Advertisement Managers of the London and Provincial Press, Ltd., and, on the other side, the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers. In fact, the newspaper trade is most highly organized in all its branches, and, on the whole, its members are highly paid.
London Newspapers. There were many changes between 1909 and 1921 in the London press. The morning daily paper, the Standard, which dated back to 1827, ceased to appear in 1911 ; in 1912 the Morning Leader, which was founded in 1892, was amalga- mated with the Daily News; in 1921 the Globe, the oldest of the
