The Sun
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- See Sun (disambiguation) for other meanings of the word "Sun", and other newspapers known as "The Sun"
The Sun, a daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom, has the highest circulation of any daily English-language newspaper in the world, standing at around 3,400,000 copies daily in mid-2004. It is published by News Group Newspapers of News International, itself a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. The Sun was launched in 1964 as a tabloid replacement for the Daily Herald, an ailing left-wing newspaper which Mirror Group Newspapers had bought from Odhams Press and the TUC. The changes did not help circulation and in 1969 the paper was sold to Murdoch. Murdoch changed the editorial stance and content of the paper - including the now (in)famous Page Three Girl picture which became a topless one in 1970 on its first anniversary - and saw the circulation rise. By 1978 The Sun had taken over its erstwhile stablemate The Mirror on circulation terms.
Editorially, the paper takes a right-wing view, staunchly anti-European and conservative. Following the Conservative Party's surprise win in the 1992 General Election, the newspaper printed its (in)famous boast that "It Was The Sun What Won It". Since the rise of Tony Blair's new Labour Party during the 1990s, however, the newspaper has switched allegiance away from the Conservatives. This has resulted in the newspaper taking a slightly peculiar stance, offering Blair almost unconditional support, yet espousing views - most particularly on immigration or the European Union - that are at odds with those of Blair and his party.
Critics of the paper accuse it of being jingoistic, sensationalistic and subserviant to Murdoch's point of view. It famously printed the headline "Gotcha" when, during the Falklands War, Argentinian ship the General Belgrano was sunk, and often refers to foreign leaders in unflatterings terms - such as dubbing president Jacques Chirac of France "le Worm". Support of British troops - referred to as "Our Boys" - in action is invariable unequivocable and the paper has fully supported the ongoing war in Iraq.
In the main, the paper relies on the entertainment industry for its content. In addition to writers covering celebrities-about-town and the latest soap storylines, the paper is always on the lookout for celebrities in trouble or dishabille. Pictures are preferred and The Sun supplies much of the paparazzi with its raison d'etre. Outside this arena, common story themes include immigration, the destruction of the British way of life by Europe, domestic abuse and paedophiles - though the latter was once undermined by a beautiful baby competition run at the same time.
The paper's sporting coverage is more highly regarded, though it has at times descended into absurdity - as when it dubbed England's football team manager Graham Taylor a turnip, complete with a picture of his head morphed onto an image of said vegetable - and worse. The Sun is notorious for its coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster in Liverpool, where it printed allegations against Liverpool football fans that were later found to be untrue. This caused a boycott of the Sun in Liverpool. It made a full page 'apology' on July 7, 2004, 15 years after the disaster, which has been criticised by some as self-serving [1]. For more on this controversy, see 'The Sun newspaper' section in 'Hillsbrough disaster'.
The current editor is Rebekah Wade, the first female editor in the paper's history.
Note: the Sunday equivalent of The Sun in the UK is the News of the World – the Sunday Sun is an unrelated tabloid newspaper, published in Newcastle upon Tyne.
See List of newspapers in the United Kingdom for a comparison of The Sun to other newspapers.
Editors
- Sidney Jacobsen (1964–???)
- Kelvin MacKenzie (1981–1994)
- Stuart Higgins (1994–1998)
- David Yelland (1998–2003)
- Rebekah Wade (2003–)
Related newspapers
Content and editorially similar newspapers published within the UK are the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, the Daily Star, and the Daily Sport.
External link
ja:ザ・サン
pl:The Sun
