The Observer is a
British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper
The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a
left-liberal or
social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
History
The first issue, published on
4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first Sunday newspaper.
Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. In 1794, Bourne attempted to sell
The Observer to anti-government based groups in London. When this failed Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as
Thomas Paine,
Francis Burdett, and
Joseph Priestley.
In 1807, the brothers decided to relinquish editorial control, naming
Lewis Doxat as the new editor. Seven years later, the brothers sold
The Observer to
William Innell Clement, a newspaper proprietor who already owned a number of publications. Though the paper continued to receive government subsidies, it criticised the authorities' handling of the events surrounding the
Peterloo Massacre and defied an 1820 court order against publishing details of the trial of the
Cato Street Conspirators who were alleged to have plotted to murder members of the Cabinet. The
woodcut pictures published of the stable and hayloft where the conspirators were arrested reflected a new stage of illustrated journalism that the newspaper pioneered during this time.
Clement maintained ownership of
The Observer until his death in 1852. During that time, the paper supported
parliamentary reform, but opposed a broader franchise and the
Chartist leadership. After Doxat retired in 1857, Clement's heirs sold the paper to
Joseph Snowe, who also took over the editor's chair. Under Snowe, the paper adopted a more liberal political stance, supporting the North during the
American Civil War and endorsing universal manhood suffrage in 1866.
These positions contributed to a decline in circulation during this time.
In 1870 wealthy businessman Julius Beer bought the paper and appointed
Edward Dicey as editor, whose efforts succeeded in reviving circulation. Though Beer's son Frederick became the owner upon Julius's death in 1880, he had little interest in the newspaper and was content to leave Dicey as editor until 1889. Henry Duff Traill took over the editorship after Dicey's departure, only to be replaced in 1891 by Frederick's wife, Rachel. Though circulation declined during her tenure, she remained as editor for thirteen years, combining it in 1893 with the editorship of
The Sunday Times.
Upon Frederick's death in 1905, the paper was purchased by the newspaper magnate
Lord Northcliffe. After maintaining the existing editorial leadership for a couple of years, in 1908 Northcliffe named
J. L. Garvin as editor. Garvin quickly turned the paper into an organ of political influence, boosting circulation from 5,000 to 40,000 within a year of his arrival as a result. Yet the revival in the paper's fortunes masked growing political disagreements between Garvin and Northcliffe. These disagreements ultimately led Northcliffe to sell the paper to
William Waldorf Astor in 1911, who transferred ownership to his son
Waldorf four years later.
During this period, the Astors were content to leave the control of the paper in Garvin's hands. Under his editorship,
The Observer pioneered the concept of the modern quality Sunday newspaper. Circulation reached 200,000 during the interwar years, one which Garvin fought to maintain even during the depths of the
Great Depression. Politically the paper pursued independent
Tory stance, one that eventually brought Garvin into conflict with Waldorf's more liberal son,
David. Their conflict ultimately contributed to Garvin's departure as editor in 1942, after which the paper took the unusual step of declaring itself non-partisan.
Ownership passed to Waldorf's sons in 1948, with David taking over as editor. He remained in the position for 27 years, during which time he turned it into a trust-owned newspaper employing, among others,
George Orwell; other journalists strongly associated with it included
Paul Jennings and
C. A. Lejeune. Under Astor's editorship the
Observer became the first national newspaper to oppose the government's 1956 invasion of Suez, a move which cost it many readers. In 1977, the Astors sold the ailing newspaper to US oil giant
Atlantic Richfield (now called ARCO) who sold it to
Lonrho plc in 1981. Since June 1993, it has been part of the
Guardian Media Group.
In 1990
Farzad Bazoft, a journalist for the
Observer, was executed in
Iraq on charges of spying, which are disputed by many.
[, accessed 4 April 2007]On
27 February 2005 The Observer Blog
[, accessed 27 February 2007] was launched, making
The Observer the first newspaper to purposely document its own internal decisions, as well as the first newspaper to
podcast. The paper's regular columnists include
Andrew Rawnsley and
Nick Cohen.
Each issue used to come with a different free monthly magazine focusing, in rotation, on Sport, Music, Women and Food. These magazines have the titles
Observer Sport Monthly,
Observer Music Monthly,
Observer Woman and
Observer Food Monthly. In addition to the rotating magazines there is the
Observer Magazine which is present every Sunday.
Content from
The Observer is included in
the Guardian Weekly for an international readership.
The Observer followed its daily partner
The Guardian and converted to '
Berliner' format on Sunday
8 January 2006.
[, accessed 27 February 2007][, accessed 27 February 2007]The Observer was
National Newspaper of the Year at the
British Press Awards 2007.
Whitehall Editor Jo Revill had, as Health Editor, been named
Medical Journalist of the Year in 2000 and 2006 by two different organisations, when she was Health Editor.
On 24 October 2007 it was announced that editor
Roger Alton was stepping down at the end of the year to be replaced by his deputy, John Mulholland.
Recently there has been a well publicised feud between the Observer and the Guardian, due to the latter taking an editorial line against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, while the Observer has largely been in favour of the invasion, taking the view that spreading liberal democracy is a 'left-liberal' cause.
Supplements and features
Sport, Business & Media, Review, Escape,
The Observer Magazine and the Television guide.
The Newsroom
The Observer and its sister newspaper
The Guardian operate a visitor centre in London called The Newsroom. It contains their archives, including bound copies of old editions, a photographic library and other items such as diaries, letters and notebooks. This material may be consulted by members of the public. The Newsroom also mounts temporary exhibitions and runs an educational program for schools.
In November 2007
The Observer and
The Guardian made their archives available over the internet via . The current extent of the archives available are 1791 to 2000 for
The Observer and 1821 to 2000 for
The Guardian. These archives will eventually go up to 2003.
Editors
Bibliography
- David Astor and The Observer by Richard Cockett. Has endpapers which are facsimiles of The Observer, with other black and white photographic plates of personnel linked to The Observer. 294 pages with an index.
See also
