The Sun Newspaper: A Pillar of British Tabloid Journalism

The Sun newspaper is truly a British tabloid newspaper which is famous for its scandalous coverage of news and events and spectacles that have shocked the nation for decades now. After the change of the format and becoming a tabloid in 1969, bought by Rupert Murdoch, The Sun became one of the major newspapers in the UK. It is not just a print media; it has gone online influencing the public and popular culture. However, despite the controversies, The Sun continues to be one of the influential newspapers in the Britain, providing political news, entertainment, sports, and scandals.

Since the inception, The Sun news paper targeted the working class and provided stories that would appeal to the typical Briton. The language used is simple, the pictures are bright and the topics are rather controversial that has kept it popular and one of the biggest selling newspapers in the UK. The newspaper has also participated in political party and candidate promotion and supporting those with political stands close to its own. This has provided The Sun with the ability to sway the outcome of elections and the thoughts of the people, making it one of the so called “king makers” in British politics.

Nevertheless, The Sun’s impact has been a source of controversy. It has not been exempted from legal cases, ethical concerns and criticisms on the basis of sensationalism. Nevertheless, The Sun remains popular to date with a fully-fledge online platform as it is a traditional tabloid newspaper. In this article, I will provide the necessary information about The Sun newspaper; historical background, influence on the journalism industry and the society, and continued relevance.

A Brief History of The Sun Newspaper

Sun newspaper was established in the year 1964 at first it was a broad sheet paper. At first, it was rather hard for it to gain a place in the tough environment of the British journalism. Nevertheless, it was revived when Rupert Murdoch purchased the paper in 1969 and turned it to a tabloid. This was the start of the journey to making The Sun the paper of choice among most people.

The Tabloid Transformation

The change of format from broadsheet to tabloid which The Sun adopted enabled it to attract more readership. Its new approach was an emphasis on sensational stories, rather provocative headlines and a more popular language – and this was accepted by the readers. This change became central to The Sun’s success.

Have you ever considered the opinion of the working class?

This paper will set out to prove that one of the reasons for The Sun’s popularity is its appeal to the working class. The content of the newspaper may contain the issues, issues, and ideas of the ordinary man and woman in Britain thus the newspaper is popular among the citizens.

The Sun’s Editorial Philosophy

The Sun has always been provocative in its coverage and more often than not, the paper has broken the rules of ethical journalistic practice. Its approach is highly populist, it is interested in topics that will stir up the emotions of the average person.

The Responsibility of Rupert Murdoch in The Sun Newspaper Success

The main change that occurred in The Sun was The Sun’s purchase by Rupert Murdoch in 1969. His ability to turn the newspaper into a populist tabloid that would have elements of sensationalism while practicing serious journalism made The Sun what it is today.

On the Successive British Politics

The Sun Newspaper has been known to have a great influence on the British politics basing on the endorsement it gives to the candidates. Due to the fact that the newspaper is able to sway the voters, it has gained the status of a political player.

Controversial Headlines and Stories

The Sun is infamous for having sensationalistic headlines and articles which often times are outside the realm of what is considered mainstream journalism. Whether it is about movie stars’ s*xual misconduct or politicians’ corruption, the newspaper has always produced material that could be considered as shocking.

The Page 3 Legacy

Another scandalous aspect of The Sun’s history is the so-called ‘Page 3’ which used to present topless models. The Page 3 was launched in 1970 and soon became the identity of the newspaper and was the centre of controversies regarding sexism and media integrity. The publication was stopped in 2015.

The Sun’s Input on Pop Culture

The Sun also played an important role in the pop culture of Great Britain mainly due to the daily coverage of celebrities and their lives, entertainment and sports gossip. This is because it has been able to capture the trends of the society through the years hence has not been left obsolete.

Sports Coverage: A Pillar of The Sun

Football has been considered as one of the most important areas of coverage at The Sun since its beginning. The newspaper’s coverage is intense and often comes with a lot of passion, and this has endeared it to the fans of sports.

Investigative Journalism at The Sun

However, in its early years, The Sun has been associated with investigative journalism as well. The newspaper has brought out major events, political, scandalous and social, proving that it is capable of handling serious issues.

The Sun’s Role in Breaking News

The Sun has been known to make fairly huge scoops in the past. The key benefit is the opportunity to provide readers with the information on the events as they occur, sometimes offering the unique angles to the stories that qualify the outlet as the trustworthy source of the breaking news.

The Royal Family’s Affair with the Sun

The Sun has been particularly interested with the British royal family. It has been involved in royal reporting most of the time due to covering royal events, scandals, and controversies.

The Role of Celebrity Culture in The Sun

The Sun widely covers celebrity news and usually releases interviews, rumors, and scandals involving celebrities and other high-profile individuals. This focus has kept The Sun relevant to the society and continues to attract many people.

The Sun’s Online Presence

This has encouraged The Sun to shift its online platform and gain millions of readership on its website and social media accounts. This has helped the newspaper to remain relevant in the new age media technology.

A paper on how the Sun uses sensationalism

It is also noteworthy that sensationalism forms the basis of The Sun’s approach to reporting on events. The newspaper has been able to capture the attention of its readers through headlines and sensational stories this has been also seen as the paper’s strength as well as weakness.

The following are the advertising strategies at The Sun:

Advertising remains the major source of funding for The Sun since its early days of its establishment. The newspaper has learned to diversify its approach to sales in the digital age, using the digital presence to attract the advertisers and keep generating revenue.

The Sun’s Coverage of Major Events

The Sun has been keen in providing coverage of big stories, be it political elections, or even royal weddings. More often than not, its approach to these stories establishes the manner in which they are received by the society.

The part that the Sun plays in determining the public opinion

For the power to influence the public opinion lies in the hand of the Sun, and it has exercised this power many a time. Its effect on such matters as politics and social cause is a clear indication of its applicability and penetration in the British society.

Criticism and Backlash

Like any newspaper, The Sun has not been exempted from the Lionel Barber’s criticism in the past years. Issues ranging from sensationalism to ethical violations have been leveled against the newspaper by media monitors and other personalities.

Legal Cases Associated With The Sun

The Sun has been involved in many legal cases, especially concerning the ways of obtaining information for publication. These cases have therefore been an eye opener in showing the difficulties of tabloid journalism and where the boundaries of tabloid journalistic practice lie as well as crossing the ethical line.

Tabloid journalism: the ethical dimension

The way The Sun handles journalism is a subject of ethical issues in the media. In matters relating to privacy to the credibility of the newspaper, their approaches have raised different questions about the role of tabloid journalism.

This paper is therefore an attempt to explore the future of the Sun Newspaper.

Another problem that The Sun has to solve is the problem of changes in the media environment where it operates. Because of the availability of social networks and the emergence of new consumer preferences, the newspaper also needs to develop to remain relevant in the industry.

This is how the Sun influences other Media outlets.

The change of the Sun’s journalistic approach has prompted other media houses in the UK and across the world. This has led to other tabloids emulating the style and thus been one of the causes of sensationalism in journalism.

The Sun’s Cultural Impact

Thus, it is much more than just a newspaper; it is a part of the culture of the Sun. Its impact on the British society and culture cannot be overemphasized as it has shaped people’s perception on how they get their news and entertainments.

The Sun’s Legacy

In as much as The Sun is among the most popular newspapers across the United Kingdom, it has had a long history. For politics, culture or journalism, the newspaper’s legacy will live on for generations to come.

The Importance of Opinion Pieces in The Sun

Editorials are a common feature in The Sun as they offer the paper’s readers somewhere to air their views. Some of its columnists write on issues which create debates that are beyond the newspaper’s circulation.

The Sun’s Methodology to Investigative Journalism

The Sun mostly focuses on investigative journalism in its work. The newspaper has been part of a culture that goes in search of stories that other media organizations may not be willing to delve into, and in the process, it has not been shy of the use of forceful measures in order to present the stories to the public.

Challenges of Being a Tabloid

It may not be easy being a tabloid. The Sun has to steer itself between the provision of sensational stories and the professional and ethical obligations of journalism, which is not always a easy.

I have chosen the following extract from the Sun to demonstrate the paper’s arguments about the use of colloquial language:

The Sun has been famous for their informal language and what can be called ‘wordplay’, which is now a part of their identity. This approach assists the newspaper in reaching out to the consumers in a more profound way.

The Sun’s part in Social Causes Promotion

Even though, The Sun can be viewed as sensationalist, it has taken up the cause of social issues as well. To support charity, to raise the awareness of important topics, the newspaper has been serving as an instrument of positive changes.

The Sun’s Digital Transition

Looking at the problem of falling print circulation, The Sun has been able to adapt and move online. Through its website and other online channels, millions of readers visit it, and this makes the newspaper to continue playing a strong lobby in the media sector.

Language and Communication as Affected by the Sun

The Sun has been involved in changing the manner in which people communicate especially in the United Kingdom. It employs features such as headlines, puns as well as colloquialism it is one of the defining characteristics of tabloid journalism and has become part of pop culture.

The Sun’s commitment to Its audience

Nevertheless, The Sun has continued to have its readership probably because of its controversies. The opportunity to reach the audience and offer the material which is interesting to them has always been one of the primary advantages of the newspaper.