THE BRITISH PRESS The newspaper reading is the essential part of British culture. British people are not expected to do at least a day without their newspapers. Almost every household in Britain is subscribed to one of the main national papers. That is why the press is so powerful in the UK. It is sometimes referred to as ‘the fourth estate’ (after the Monarch, the Lords and the Commons). There are national and regional or local newspapers in Britain, but the dominance of the national press is evident. They usually come out in the mornings and are delivered to the readers’ doors during the so-called morning ‘paper rounds’. So, the morning newspaper is a very important household institution in Britain. The British press is controlled by a number of large multinational companies. None of them is an organ of a political party, but all of them occupy a certain position on the right-left spectrum. This position reflect political outlook of the owners of the newspapers. Actually, most of them are Conservative party supporters so the majority of the newspapers are obviously in favor of this party. We can divide the major national papers into 2 parts: broadsheets, or quality papers and tabloids. Broadsheets cater for educated readers who are interested in politics and other serious news. Tabloids are written in a simple style and concentrate on ‘human interest’ stories, so they sell to a much larger readership. One of the most distinct features of the national press is its shallowness. It is the result of the commercial interests of the owners who want to attract readers at all costs. Some newspapers are infamous for their invasion of privacy because their reporters behave too intrusively when trying to find some newsworthy situation. The right to privacy contradicts another British value, the freedom of press. To find a compromise between the two, the Press Complaints Commission has been established. This organization is made up of newspaper editors and journalists and is supposed to set limits on the extent to which newspapers should publish details of people’s private lives. Of course the British press is not just newspapers, there are also rows of magazines catering for almost every imaginable taste and specializing in almost every imaginable pastime. The magazines are popular among people who find the national press too predictable. Personally speaking, out of all national newspapers I like The Observer the most. It is Britain’s oldest Sunday newspaper, founded in 1791. It is also the first newspaper in the world to use illustrations. With a circulation of around 550,000 it has a high reputation for responsible reporting, penetrating editorial comment and its coverage of literature and arts.