The Press: Britain's Abysmal Depths

Many an American thinks of British newspapers as a logical extension of traditional striped-pants British reserve, formality and respectability. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Except for the three "quality" dailies—the Times of London, Manchester Guardian, and London's Daily Telegraph (combined circ. 1.4 million)—Britain's six other national papers (combined circ. 14.8 million) extend by degrees to the wildest and most sensational in the world—and the least informative. On the 100th anniversary this year of the birth of British press freedom, the Times took one horrified look at the giant journalistic...