| 1476 |
William Caxton sets up the first
English printing press in Westminster. |
| 1549 |
First known English newsletter:
Requests of the Devonshyre and Cornyshe Rebelles. |
| 1621 |
First titled newspaper,
Corante, published in London. |
| 1649 |
Cromwell suppressed all newsbooks on
the eve of Charles I's execution. |
| 1690 |
Worcester Postman launched.
(In 1709 it starts regular publication as Berrow's Worcester
Journal, considered to be the oldest surviving English
newspaper). |
| 1702 |
Launch of the first regular daily
newspaper: The Daily Courant. |
| 1709 |
First Copyright Act; Berrow's
Worcester Journal, considered the oldest surviving English
newspaper, started regular publication. |
| 1712 |
First Stamp Act; advertisement, paper
and stamp duties condemned as taxes on knowledge. Stamford
Mercury believed to have been launched. |
| 1718 |
Leeds Mercury started (later
merged into Yorkshire Post). |
| 1737 |
Belfast News Letter founded
(world's oldest surviving daily newspaper). |
| 1748 |
Aberdeen Journal began
(Scotland's oldest newspaper - now the Press &
Journal). |
| 1772 |
Hampshire Chronicle
launched, Hampshire's oldest paper. |
| 1788 |
Daily Universal Register
(est. 1785) became The Times. |
| 1791 |
The Observer launched. |
| 1835 |
Libel Act; truth allowed as defence
for first time in Britain. |
| 1836 |
The Newspaper Society founded. |
| 1844 |
The Southport Visiter first
published. |
| 1848 |
The first issue of the Brechin
Advertiser was published on Tuesday 3 October 1848. |
| 1853 |
Ormskirk Advertiser and
Birkenhead News first published. |
| 1855 |
Stamp duty abolished. Daily
Telegraph started as first penny national. Manchester
Guardian, The Scotsman and Liverpool Post
became daily. Shields Gazette is the first of 17 regional
evenings founded this year. |
| 1868 |
Press Association set up
as a national news agency. |
| 1889 |
First Official Secrets Act |
| 1905 |
Harmsworth (then Northcliffe) bought
The Observer |
| 1906 |
Newspaper Proprietors Association
founded for national dailies. |
| 1907 |
National Union of Journalists founded
as a wage-earners union. |
| 1915 |
Rothermere launched Sunday
Pictorial (later Sunday Mirror). |
| 1922 |
Death of Northcliffe. Control of
Associated Newspapers passed to Rothermere. |
| 1928 |
Northcliffe Newspapers set up as a
subsidiary of Associated Newspapers. Provincial Newspapers set up
as a subsidiary of United Newspapers. |
| 1931 |
Audit Bureau of Circulations
formed. |
| 1936 |
Britain's first colour advertisement
appears (in Glasgow's Daily Record). |
| 1944 |
Iliffe took over BPM Holdings
(including Birmingham Post). |
| 1946 |
Guild of British Newspaper Editors
formed (now the Society of Editors). |
| 1953 |
General Council of the Press
established. |
| 1955 |
Month-long national press strike.
Daily Record acquired by Mirror Group. |
| 1959 |
Manchester Guardian becomes
The Guardian. Six-week regional press printing
strike. |
| 1960s |
Photocomposition and web-offset
printing progressively introduced. |
| 1964 |
The Sun launched, replacing
Daily Herald. Death of Beaverbrook. General Council of the
Press reformed as the Press Council. |
| 1969 |
Murdoch's News International acquired
The Sun and News of the World. |
| 1976 |
Nottingham Evening Post is
Britain's first newspaper to start direct input by
journalists. |
| 1978 |
The Times and The Sunday
Times ceased publication for 11 months. |
| 1980 |
Association of Free Newspaper founded
(folded 1991). Regional Newspaper Advertising Bureau formed. |
| 1981 |
News International acquired The
Times and the Sunday Times. |
| 1983 |
Industrial dispute at Eddie Shah's
Messenger group plant at Warrington. |
| 1984 |
Mirror Group sold by Reed to Maxwell
(Pergamon).
First free daily newspaper, the (Birmingham) Daily News,
launched by husband & wife team Chris & Pat Bullivant. |
| 1986 |
News International moved titles to a
new plant at Wapping. Eddie Shah launched Today, first
colour national daily launched. The Independent
launched. |
| 1987 |
News International took over
Today. |
| 1988 |
RNAB folded. Newspaper Society
launched PressAd as its commercial arm. Thomson launched
Scotland on Sunday and Sunday Life. |
| 1989 |
Last Fleet Street paper produced by
Sunday Express. |
| 1990 |
First Calcutt report on Privacy and
Related Matters. Launch of The European (by Maxwell) and
Independent on Sunday. |
| 1991 |
Press Complaints Commission replaced
the Press Council. AFN folded. Death of Robert Maxwell (November).
Management buy-out of Birmingham Post and sister titles.
Midland Independent Newspapers established. |
| 1992 |
Management buy-out by Caledonian
Newspapers of Lonrho's Glasgow titles, The Herald and
Evening Times. |
| 1993 |
Guardian Media Group bought The
Observer. UK News set up by Northcliffe and Westminster Press
as rival news agency to the Press Association. Second Calcutt
report into self-regulation of the press. |
| 1994 |
Northcliffe Newspapers bought
Nottingham Evening Post for £93m. News International
price-cutting sparked off new national cover-price war. |
| 1995 |
Lord Wakeham succeeded Lord McGregor
as chairman of the PCC. Privacy white paper rejected statutory
press controls. Most of Thomson's regional titles sold to Trinity.
Newsquest formed out of a Reed MBO. Murdoch closes Today
(November). |
| 1996 |
A year of buyouts, mergers and
restructuring in the regional press. Regionals win the battle over
cross-media ownership (Broadcasting Act). Newspaper Society
launches NS Marketing, replacing PressAd. |
| 1997 |
Midland Independent Newspapers is
bought by Mirror Group for £297 million. Human Rights and Data
Protection bills are introduced. |
| 1998 |
Fourth largest regional press
publisher, United Provincial Newspapers, is sold in two deals: UPN
Yorkshire and Lancashire newspapers sold to Regional Independent
Media for £360m and United Southern Publications sold to Southnews
for £47.5m. Southern Newspapers changes its name to Newscom,
following acquisitions in Wales and the West (including UPN Wales
in 1996). Death of Lord Rothermere. Chairmanship of Associated
Newspapers passes to his son Jonathan Harmsworth. Death of David
English, editor-in-chief of Daily Mail and chairman of the
editors' code committee. |
| 1999 |
Trinity merges with Mirror Group
Newspapers in a deal worth £1.3 billion. Newsquest is bought by US
publisher Gannett for £904 million. Portsmouth & Sunderland
Newspapers is bought by Johnston Press for £266m. Major regional
press groups launch electronic media alliances (eg, This is
Britain, Fish4 sites.) Freedom of Information bill introduced.
Associated launches London's free commuter daily,
Metro. |
| 2000 |
Newscom is sold to Newsquest Media Group for £444m, Adscene
titles are sold to Southnews (£52m)and Northcliffe Newspapers,
Belfast Telegraph Newspapers are sold by Trinity Mirror to
Independent News & Media for £300m, Bristol United Press is
sold to Northcliffe Newspapers Group, and Southnews is sold to
Trinity Mirror for £285m. Daily Express and Daily
Star are sold by Lord Hollick's United News & Media to
Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell. Launch of Scottish business
daily Business a.m. and more Metro daily frees.
Newspaper Society launches internet artwork delivery system AdFast.
Communications white paper published.
|
| 2001 |
RIM buys six Galloway and Stornaway
Gazette titles, Newsquest buys Dimbleby Newspaper Group and
Johnston Press buys four titles from Morton Media Group. UK
Publishing Media formed. Sunday Business changes name to
The Business and publishes on Sunday and Monday. |
| 2002 |
Johnston Press acquires Regional
Independent Media's 53 regional newspaper titles in a £560 million
deal. Northcliffe Newspapers Group Ltd acquires Hill Bros (Leek)
Ltd. Queen attends Newspaper Society annual lunch. New PCC
chairman, Christopher Meyer, announced. Draft Communications Bill
published. The Sun and Mirror engage in a price
war. |
| 2003 |
Conrad Black resigns as chief executive of Hollinger
International, owner of Telegraph group. Claverly Company, owner of
Midland News Association, buys Guiton Group, publisher of regional
titles in the Channel Islands. Archant buys 12 London weekly titles
from Independent News & Media (December) and the remaining 15
the following month (January 04). Independent begins the shift to
smaller format national newspapers when it launched its compact
edition. Sir Christopher Meyer becomes chairman of the Press
Complaints Commission. DCMS select committee chaired by Gerald
Kaufman into privacy and the press. Government rejects calls for a
privacy law.
|
| 2004 |
Phillis Report on Government Communications published
(January). Barclay Brothers buy Telegraph group and poach
Murdoch Maclennan from Associated to run it. Kevin Beatty moves
from Northcliffe Newspapers to run Associated Newspapers. Trinity
Mirror sells Century Newspapers and Derry Journal in
Northern Ireland to 3i. Tindle Newspapers sells Sunday
Independent in Plymouth to Newsquest. The Times goes
compact (November).
|
| 2005 |
Johnston Press buys Score Press from EMAP for £155m. Launch of
free Lite editions for London Evening Standard and
Manchester Evening News. The Times puts up cover
price to 60p, marking the end of the nationals’ price war. The
Guardian moves to Berliner format after £80m investment in new
presses. DMGT puts Northcliffe Newspapers up for sale; bids
expected to open at £1.2 billion. Johnston Press buys Scotsman
Publications from Barclay Brothers for £160m.
|
| 2006 |
DMGT sale of Northcliffe group aborted but DC Thomson acquires
Aberdeen Press & Journal. Trinity Mirror strategic
review: Midlands and South East titles put up for sale. Growth of
regional press digital platforms. Manchester Evening News
city edition goes free. Government threat to limit Freedom of
Information requests. Associated and News International both launch
free evening papers in London during the autumn.
|
| 2007 |
Archant Scotland acquired by Johnston Press. Northcliffe Media
buys three regional newspaper businesses from Trinity Mirror; Kent
Regional Newspapers, East Surrey and Sussex Newspapers and
Blackmore Vale Publishing. Dunfermline Press Group acquires
Berkshire Regional Newspapers from Trinity Mirror. Tindle
Newspapers buys 27 local weekly newspapers from Trinity Mirror
which retains its Midlands titles. The government abandons plans to
tighten Freedom of Information laws and limit media access to
coroners’ courts. Former Hollinger International chief executive
Conrad Black is sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for
fraud. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation buys Dow Jones, owner of
the Wall Street Journal, appointing News International
boss Les Hinton as chief executive.
|
| 2008 |
The global economic downturn hit advertising revenues and
shares of media companies fell sharply during the year. John Fry
was announced as Tim Bowdler’s successor at Johnston Press in
September. The Independent announced a plan to
move to DMGT’s Kensington building to cut costs in November. The
BBC Trust rejected plans for local video that would have a negative
impact on regional titles in the same month following a sustained
campaign by the NS. |
| 2009 |
Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev acquires the
London Evening Standard from Daily Mail & General
Trust and the title is subsequently relaunched as a free newspaper.
Baroness Peta Buscombe is appointed chairman of the Press
Complaints Commission. |
| 2010 |
Britain officially emerges from the longest and
deepest recession since the war. Lebedev acquires the
Independent and Independent on Sunday from
Independent News & Media for a nominal fee of £1. Trinity
Mirror acquires GMG Regional Media, publisher of 32 titles, from
Guardian Media Group for £44.8 million. News International erects
paywalls around its online content for The Times and
The Sunday Times. Eleven regional print titles are
launched by seven publishers in the first six months of the year.
Newly-elected coalition government announces it will look at
the case for relaxing cross-media ownership rules and stop unfair
competition from council newspapers. |