Type | Daily |
---|---|
Format | Broadsheet |
Owner(s) | George Newnes (1893–1908) Alfred Mond (1908–c. 1921) Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray (c. 1921–1928) |
Editor | E. T. Cook (1893–1896) J. A. Spender (1896–1921) J. B. Hobman (1921–1928) |
Founded | 31 January 1893 |
Political alignment | Liberal |
Language | English |
Ceased publication | 31 January 1928 |
Headquarters | London, England |
Circulation | 20,000 |
The Westminster Gazette was an influential Liberal newspaper based in London. It was known for publishing sketches and short stories, including early works by Raymond Chandler, Anthony Hope, D. H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, Margaret Chute and Saki, and travel writing by Rupert Brooke. One of its editors was caricaturist and political cartoonist Francis Carruthers Gould. The paper was dubbed the "pea-green incorruptible" – Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone having personally approved its green colour. [1]
Launched with the help of Liberal publisher George Newnes, the paper was started by E. T. Cook on 31 January 1893, [2] employing the core of the old political staff from The Pall Mall Gazette including Hulda Friederichs. [3] The paper established itself in the front rank of Liberal publications, earning the admiration of the Liberal prime minister Lord Rosebery.
Cook served as editor until 1896, when he resigned his position to take over as editor of the Liberal The Daily News . Though a number of prominent individuals applied to succeed him, George Newnes decided to offer the editorship to J. A. Spender, then only 33 years of age. Though Spender himself was modest about his prospects, his selection was met with approval by many in the Liberal ranks, including the head of the party Lord Rosebery. [4]
When launched, it was printed on green paper (which it retained throughout its time as an evening publication), intended to make it easier to read by homegoing workers under artificial light on a train or omnibus. [5]
The veteran editor Frederick Greenwood regarded The Westminster Gazette under Spender as "the best-edited paper in London," [6] and it became essential reading for politicians on both sides of the political aisle. The paper's priority was Liberal unity. It balanced ideological expression, avoiding the polemical heights attained by other Liberal publications. Though this occasionally earned Spender the ire of both Liberal factions in a debate, his loyalty to the Liberal leadership was rewarded with their confidences, which provided him with invaluable insight into the inner workings of contemporary politics. [7]
Spender greatly valued his editorial independence, which was never an issue with The Gazette's owner, George Newnes. When Newnes sold the paper in 1908 to a consortium of Liberal businessmen and politicians led by Alfred Mond, however, Spender found his cherished independence under pressure. Only internal disagreement within the ownership group saved Spender from dismissal. The dispute hurt staff morale, while the start of the First World War led several important staff members to leave for service in the armed forces.
A growing decline in circulation and revenue led Spender and the owners, including the leading shareholder at the time Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, to undertake the radical move of switching from an evening to a morning publication in November 1921.The new paper, however, was no longer a vehicle for the sort of reflective journalism characteristic of Spender, and he resigned from his position in February 1922. [7] [8]
The revamped newspaper gained circulation but continued to make significant financial losses. It was merged into the Liberal Daily News on 1 February 1928. [2] [9]
The history of British newspapers begins in the 17th century with the emergence of regular publications covering news and gossip. The relaxation of government censorship in the late 17th century led to a rise in publications, which in turn led to an increase in regulation throughout the 18th century. The Times began publication in 1785 and became the leading newspaper of the early 19th century, before the lifting of taxes on newspapers and technological innovations led to a boom in newspaper publishing in the late 19th century. Mass education and increasing affluence led to new papers such as the Daily Mail emerging at the end of the 19th century, aimed at lower middle-class readers.
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith,, generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last Liberal Party prime minister to command a majority government, and the most recent Liberal to have served as Leader of the Opposition. He played a major role in the design and passage of major liberal legislation and a reduction of the power of the House of Lords. In August 1914, Asquith took Great Britain and the British Empire into the First World War. During 1915, his government was vigorously attacked for a shortage of munitions and the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign. He formed a coalition government with other parties but failed to satisfy critics, was forced to resign in December 1916 and never regained power.
Ronald Craufurd Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar, was a British politician who served as the sixth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1914 to 1920.
Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, was a British lawyer and philosopher and an influential Liberal and later Labour politician. He was Secretary of State for War between 1905 and 1912 during which time the "Haldane Reforms" of the British Army were implemented. As an intellectual he was fascinated with German thought. That led to his role in seeking detente with Germany in 1912 in the Haldane Mission. The mission was a failure and tensions with Berlin forced London to work more closely with Paris.
The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, The Globe merged into The Pall Mall Gazette, which itself was absorbed into The Evening Standard in 1923.
The Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by Johnston Press and is now owned by National World. Founded in 1754, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the country.
Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet was a British publisher and editor and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for two decades. His company, George Newnes Ltd, was known for such periodicals as Tit-Bits and The Strand Magazine; it continued publishing consumer magazines such as Nova long after his death.
The Northern Echo is a regional daily morning newspaper based in the town of Darlington in North East England, serving mainly southern County Durham and northern Yorkshire. The paper covers national as well as regional news. In 2007, its then-editor claimed that it was one of the most famous provincial newspapers in the United Kingdom. Its first edition was published on 1 January 1870.
The Camden New Journal is a British independent newspaper published in the London Borough of Camden. It was launched by editor Eric Gordon in 1982 following a two-year strike at its predecessor, the Camden Journal. The newspaper was supported by campaigning journalist Paul Foot and former Holborn and St Pancras MP Frank Dobson. It carries significant influence locally, due to its high news content, investigations and large circulation.
Sir Edward Tyas Cook was an English journalist, biographer, and man of letters.
The 19th-century Catholic periodical literature is unique in many respects. Most of the periodical publications in mainly Catholic countries can be regarded as "Catholic" literature up to a few decades before 1800: the editorial line is implicitly Catholic in most instances.
Illinois Staats-Zeitung was one of the most well-known German-language newspapers of the United States; it was published in Chicago from 1848 until 1922. Along with the Westliche Post and Anzeiger des Westens, both of St. Louis, it was one of the three most successful German-language newspapers in the United States Midwest, and described as "the leading Republican paper of the Northwest", alongside the Chicago Tribune. By 1876, the paper was printing 14,000 copies an hour and was second only to the Tribune in citywide circulation.
Thornton Leigh Hunt was the first editor of the British daily broadsheet newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
John Alfred Spender CH was a British journalist and author. He also edited the London newspaper The Westminster Gazette from 1896 to 1922.
Stephen Edward Koss was an American historian specialising in subjects relating to Britain.
The St James's Gazette was a London evening newspaper published from 1880 to 1905. It was founded by the Conservative Henry Hucks Gibbs, later Baron Aldenham, a director of the Bank of England 1853–1901 and its governor 1875–1877; the paper's first editor was Frederick Greenwood, previously the editor of the Conservative-leaning Pall Mall Gazette.
The history of journalism in the United Kingdom includes the gathering and transmitting of news, spans the growth of technology and trade, marked by the advent of specialised techniques for gathering and disseminating information on a regular basis. In the analysis of historians, it involves the steady increase of the scope of news available to us and the speed with which it is transmitted.
George Newnes Ltd is a British publisher. The company was founded in 1891 by George Newnes (1851–1910), considered a founding father of popular journalism. Newnes published such magazines and periodicals as Tit-Bits, The Wide World Magazine, The Captain, The Strand Magazine, The Grand Magazine, John O'London's Weekly, Sunny Stories for Little Folk, Woman's Own, and the "Practical" line of magazines overseen by editor Frederick J. Camm. Long after the founder's death, Newnes was known for publishing ground-breaking consumer magazines such as Nova.
The British Weekly: A Journal of Social and Christian Progress was a significant publication from its founding in 1886 well into the 20th century. One of the most successful religious newspapers of its time, it was published by Hodder & Stoughton. It was "a central force in shaping and promoting the 'Nonconformist conscience'", according to the Dictionary of Nineteenth-century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland.
Hulda Friederichs was a Prussian journalist and writer working in London.
1893 - Jan 31 : Westminster Gazette launched. Merged with Daily News in 1928.