{{Short description|Style of largely sensationalist journalism}} {{About|a style of journalism|the printing format|Tabloid (newspaper format)}} {{Redirect|Scandal sheet||Scandal Sheet (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}} [[File:British tabloids - July 5 2011.jpg|thumb|Display rack of British newspapers during the midst of the [[News International phone hacking scandal]] (5 July 2011). Many of the newspapers in the rack are tabloids.]] '''Tabloid journalism''' is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism, which takes its name from the [[tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] newspaper format: a small-sized newspaper also known as a half [[broadsheet]]. The size became associated with sensationalism, and ''tabloid journalism'' replaced the earlier label of ''[[yellow journalism]]'' and ''scandal sheets''.{{cite book|last=Cohen|first=Daniel|url=https://archive.org/details/yellowjournalism00cohe|title=Yellow Journalism|publisher=Twenty-First Century Books|year=2000|isbn=0761315020|url-access=registration}}{{rp|page=73}} Not all newspapers associated with tabloid journalism are tabloid size, and not all tabloid-size newspapers engage in tabloid journalism; since around the year 2000, many broadsheet newspapers converted to the more compact tabloid format.{{cite web|last=Gossel|first=Daniel|title=Tabloid journalism|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/tabloid-journalism|access-date=2020-09-19|website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|language=en|archive-date=8 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408142631/https://www.britannica.com/topic/tabloid-journalism|url-status=live}} In some cases, celebrities have successfully sued tabloids for [[Defamation|libel]], demonstrating that the tabloid's stories have defamed them.{{cite news|last=Andrews|first=Travis M.|date=14 July 2016|title=Dr. Phil and wife Robin sue the National Enquirer for $250 million, citing defamation|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/14/dr-phil-and-wife-robin-sue-the-national-enquirer-for-250000-million-citing-defamation/|url-access=subscription|access-date=13 January 2019|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023194721/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/14/dr-phil-and-wife-robin-sue-the-national-enquirer-for-250000-million-citing-defamation/|url-status=live}} Publications engaging in tabloid journalism are also known as '''rag newspapers''' or simply '''rags'''. In the 21st century, tabloid journalism has shifted to online platforms targeting youth consumers with celebrity news and entertainment. ==Scandal sheets== {{Journalism sidebar}} {{See also|Jazz journalism}} Scandal sheets were the precursors to tabloid journalism. Around 1770, scandal sheets appeared in London, and in the United States as early as the 1840s.{{r|klatt}} [[Sir Henry Dudley, 1st Baronet|Reverend Henry Bate Dudley]] was the editor of one of the earliest scandal sheets, ''[[The Morning Post]]'', which specialized in printing malicious society [[gossip]], selling positive mentions in its pages, and collecting suppression fees to keep stories unpublished.{{r|wilkes|p=11–14}} Other [[Georgian era]] scandal sheets were [[Theodore Hook]]'s ''[[John Bull (magazine)|John Bull]]'', [[Charles Molloy Westmacott]]'s ''The Age'', and [[Barnard Gregory]]'s ''[[The Satirist]]''.{{r|wilkes|p=53}} [[William d'Alton Mann]], owner of the scandal sheet ''[[Town Topics (magazine)|Town Topics]]'', explained his purpose: "My ambition is to reform [[The Four Hundred (1892)|the Four Hundred]] by making them too deeply disgusted with themselves to continue their silly, empty way of life."{{r|wilkes|p=93}} Many scandal sheets in the United States were short-lived attempts at [[blackmail]].{{r|wilkes|p=90}} One of the most popular in the U.S. was the ''[[National Police Gazette]]''.{{cite book|last=Klatt|first=Wayne|title=Chicago journalism : a history|publisher=McFarland & Co|publication-place=Jefferson, N.C|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7864-4181-5|oclc=277136414|page=41}} Scandal sheets in the early 20th century were usually 4- or 8-page cheap papers specializing in the lurid and profane, sometimes used to grind political, ideological, or personal axes, sometimes to make money (because "scandal sells"), and sometimes for extortion. A Duluth, Minnesota example was the ''[[Ripsaw (newspaper)|Rip-saw]]'', written by a [[Fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] journalist named [[John L. Morrison]] who was outraged by the vice and corruption he observed in that 1920s mining town. ''Rip-saw'' regularly published accusations of drunkenness, debauchery, and corruption against prominent citizens and public officials. Morrison was convicted of criminal libel in one instance, but his scandal sheet may have contributed to several politicians losing their elections. After Morrison published an issue claiming that State Senator Mike Boylan had threatened to kill him, Boylan responded by helping to pass the [[Public nuisance|Public Nuisance]] Bill of 1925. It allowed a single [[judge]], without [[jury]], to stop a newspaper or magazine from publishing, forever. Morrison died before the new law could be used to shut down ''Rip-saw''. ''The Saturday Press'' was another Minnesota scandal sheet. When the Public Nuisance Bill of 1925 was used to shut down ''The Saturday Press'', [[Near v. Minnesota|the case]] made its way to the [[United States Supreme Court]] which found the [[gag order|gag law]] to be unconstitutional.{{rp|pages=39–52}} ===Canada=== Canada developed its own tradition of scandal and tabloid newspapers during the 20th century. In Toronto, prominent examples included ''[[Hush (tabloid)|Hush]]'', founded in 1927, ''[[Flash (tabloid)|Flash]]'', founded in 1938, and ''[[Justice Weekly]]'', founded in 1946, and ''[[Tab International|Tab]]'', founded in 1956. These publications combined sensational accounts of crime, sexuality and scandal with varying amounts of political commentary, local reporting, racing information, stock tips, gossip and personal advertisements.{{cite journal |last=Houston |first=Susan E. |title='A little steam, a little sizzle and a little sleaze': English-Language Tabloids in the Interwar Period |journal=Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada |volume=40 |issue=1 |year=2002 |doi=10.33137/pbsc.v40i1.18251 |url=https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/bsc/article/view/18251 |access-date=15 August 2026|doi-access=free }} ''Hush'' developed a national distribution network during the 1930s, with Toronto distributor [[Samuel Lichtman]] supplying provincial sub-agents who in turn distributed the paper to local retailers. ''Flash'', founded by Lichtman and printer Hanmer Burt Lloyd, emerged as a direct competitor to ''Hush'' and became part of Toronto's postwar scandal-tabloid industry. ''Justice Weekly'', founded by Philip H. Daniels in 1946, concentrated on crime, courts and punishment but also became an unusual Canadian outlet for material from the international [[homophile movement]], publishing hundreds of articles and reprints concerning homosexuality during its run.{{cite web |last=McLeod |first=Donald W. |title=Justice Weekly and Homophile Publishing |website=OutHistory |url=https://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/justice/justiceweekly |access-date=15 August 2026}} Montreal also developed a significant tabloid press. ''[[Globe (tabloid)|Midnight]]'', founded in Montreal by Joe Azaria in 1954, began as a local entertainment and scandal publication but subsequently developed into a major North American supermarket tabloid.{{cite news |title=Maxwell Agrees to Acquire Three Supermarket Tabloids |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=17 May 1990 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-17-fi-451-story.html |access-date=15 August 2026}} By the 1960s and 1970s, some Canadian tabloids increasingly oriented themselves toward the much larger United States market. A 1970 survey of Toronto tabloids in ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' reported that ''Flash'', by then published as ''Confidential Flash'', was styled in part for American readers and distributed a substantial portion of its circulation directly in the United States. Its presentation included more provocative photographs than most Canadian competitors, while its contents combined Toronto and Montreal material with entertainment and gossip from New York, Hollywood and Chicago.{{cite news |last=Clery |first=Val |title=Pssst! The Tabloids Are Immortal, Right |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |location=Toronto |date=5 September 1970 |page=A6 |url=https://onlineresources.tpl.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/hnpglobeandmail/newspapers/pssst-tabloids-are-immortal-right/docview/1242164538/sem-2?accountid=14369 |via=ProQuest |access-date=15 August 2026}} The same trend was even more pronounced with Montreal's ''Midnight''. The publication expanded from its Canadian origins into the American supermarket-tabloid market and eventually evolved into the ''[[Globe (tabloid)|Globe]]''. This cross-border development helped connect the earlier Canadian scandal-sheet tradition with the North American supermarket-tabloid industry that became prominent during the later 20th century. ==Supermarket tabloids== {{see also|Gossip magazine}} {{More citations needed section|date=July 2026}} In the United States and Canada, "supermarket tabloids" are large, national versions of these tabloids, usually published weekly. They are named for their prominent placement along the [[supermarket]] checkout lines. In the 1960s, the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' began selling magazines in supermarkets as an alternative to newsstands. To help with their rapport with supermarkets and continue their franchise within them, they had offered to buy back unsold issues so newer, more up to date ones could be displayed. These tabloids—such as the ''[[The Globe (tabloid)|Globe]]'' and the ''National Enquirer''—often use aggressive tactics to sell their issues. Unlike regular tabloid-format newspapers, supermarket tabloids are distributed through the magazine distribution channel like other weekly magazines and mass-market paperback books. Leading examples include the ''National Enquirer'', ''[[Star (magazine)|Star]]'', ''[[Weekly World News]]'' (later reinvented as a parody of the style), and the ''[[Sun (supermarket tabloid)|Sun]]''. Most major supermarket tabloids in the United States are published by [[American Media (publisher)|American Media, Inc.]], including the ''National Enquirer'', ''Star'', ''Globe'', and ''[[National Examiner]]''. A major event in the history of American supermarket tabloids was the successful libel lawsuit by [[Carol Burnett]] against the ''National Enquirer'' (''[[Carol Burnett v. National Enquirer, Inc.]]''), arising out of a false 1976 report in the ''National Enquirer'', implying she was drunk and boisterous in a public encounter with U.S. Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]]. Though its impact is widely debated, it is generally seen as a significant turning point in the relations between celebrities and tabloid journalism, increasing the willingness of celebrities to sue for libel in the United States, and somewhat dampening the recklessness of American tabloids.{{cite news|last=Scott|first=Vernon|date=22 March 1981|title=Carol Burnett launches trial balloon|website=|publisher=[[United Press International]]|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/03/22/Carol-Burnett-launches-trial-balloon/6032354085200/|access-date=1 January 2017|archive-date=2 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102173231/http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/03/22/Carol-Burnett-launches-trial-balloon/6032354085200/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Lindsey|first=Robert|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/27/us/carol-burnett-given-1.6-million-in-suit-against-national-enquirer.html|title=Carol Burnett given 1.6 million in suit against National Enquirer|date=27 March 1981|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=1 January 2017|archive-date=23 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323010442/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/27/us/carol-burnett-given-1.6-million-in-suit-against-national-enquirer.html|url-status=live}}[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/04/news/how-the-supermarket-tabloids-stay-out-of-court.html "How the Supermarket Tabloids Stay Out of Court"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107174814/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/04/news/how-the-supermarket-tabloids-stay-out-of-court.html|date=7 January 2017}}, 4 January 1991, ''The New York Times'', retrieved 1 January 2017.{{cite news|last=Langberg|first=Barry|date=12 August 1991|title=Tabloids' Lies Abuse the First Amendment|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-12-ca-468-story.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=1 January 2017|archive-date=3 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103002443/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-08-12/entertainment/ca-468_1_tabloids|url-status=live}} (Opinion essay by libel attorney for Burnett and others){{cite news|last=Beam|first=Alex|date=August 1999|title=Tabloid Law|work=[[The Atlantic Monthly]]|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/08/tabloid-law/377722/|url-access=subscription|access-date=1 January 2017|archive-date=12 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312050511/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/08/tabloid-law/377722/|url-status=live}} Other celebrities have attempted to sue tabloid magazines for libel and slander including [[Phil McGraw]] in 2016 and [[Richard Simmons]] in 2017.{{cite web|title=''Richard Simmons v the National Enquirer''|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/357656566/Richard-Simmons-v-the-National-Enquirer|url-access=subscription|access-date=1 November 2017|via=Scribd|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807214520/https://www.scribd.com/document/357656566/Richard-Simmons-v-the-National-Enquirer|url-status=live}} Tabloids may [[chequebook journalism|pay for stories]]. Besides [[scoop (news)|scoop]]s meant to be headline stories, this can be used to censor stories damaging to the paper's allies. Known as "[[catch and kill]]", tabloid newspapers may pay someone for the exclusive rights to a story, then choose not to run it.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/catch-and-kill-at-national-enquirer-gives-media-one-last-black-eye-before-election/2016/11/05/2534d43e-a36c-11e6-8832-23a007c77bb4_story.html|title='Catch and kill' at National Enquirer gives media one last black eye before election|last=Sullivan|first=Margaret|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=5 November 2016|access-date=6 December 2017|archive-date=7 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207140024/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/catch-and-kill-at-national-enquirer-gives-media-one-last-black-eye-before-election/2016/11/05/2534d43e-a36c-11e6-8832-23a007c77bb4_story.html|url-status=live}} Publisher [[A360media|American Media]] has been accused of burying stories embarrassing to [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]],{{cite news|last1=Nicholas|first1=Peter|last2=Hall|first2=Carla|date=12 August 2005|title=Tabloid's Deal With Woman Shielded Schwarzenegger|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-aug-12-me-arnold12-story.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=6 December 2017|archive-date=6 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806171954/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/aug/12/local/me-arnold12|url-status=live}} [[Donald Trump]],{{cite news|last1=Palazzolo|first1=Joe|last2=Rothfield|first2=Michael|last3=Alpert|first3=Lukas|date=4 November 2016|title=National Enquirer Shielded Donald Trump From Playboy Model's Affair Allegation|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-enquirer-shielded-donald-trump-from-playboy-models-affair-allegation-1478309380|url-access=subscription|access-date=6 December 2017|archive-date=16 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216232035/https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-enquirer-shielded-donald-trump-from-playboy-models-affair-allegation-1478309380|url-status=live}} and [[Harvey Weinstein]].{{cite news|last1=Twohey|first1=Megan|last2=Kantor|first2=Jodi|last3=Dominus|first3=Susan|last4=Rutenberg|first4=Jim|last5=Eder|first5=Steve|date=6 December 2017|title=Weinstein's Complicity Machine|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/05/us/harvey-weinstein-complicity.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=6 December 2017|archive-date=6 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206003245/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/05/us/harvey-weinstein-complicity.html|url-status=live}} ==Red tops== The term "red tops" refers to British tabloids with red [[Nameplate (publishing)|mastheads]], such as ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'', the ''[[Daily Star (United Kingdom)|Daily Star]]'', the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'', ''[[News of the World]]'', and the ''[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]''.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/dec/06/pressandpublishing.abcs|title=Red-tops on the rise, survey shows|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=6 December 2007|first=Stephen |last=Brook|access-date=1 April 2012|archive-date=4 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204090959/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/dec/06/pressandpublishing.abcs|url-status=live}} Red top publications may report on politics and international news, but tend to focus primarily on [[Gossip magazine|celebrity gossip]] and [[sensationalism]]. Red tops publish short stories with simple language and typically use more pictures than other newspapers.{{Cite web |title=Types of newspaper - Newspapers - GCSE Media Studies Revision |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zps4qty/revision/1 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=BBC Bitesize |language=en-GB}} These are distinguished from the UK's [[middle-market newspapers]], which have a similar size but more news content, which are known as the "black tops".{{fact|date=August 2026}} ==Modern tabloid journalism== {{See also|Leveson Inquiry}} In the early 21st century, much of tabloid journalism and news production changed mediums to [[digital media|online]] formats. This change is to keep up with the [[Technological revolution|era of digital media]] and allow for increased accessibility of readers. With a steady [[Decline of newspapers|decline in paid newspapers]], the gap has been filled by expected free daily articles, mostly in the tabloid format. Tabloid readers are often youths, and studies show that consumers of tabloids are on average less educated.{{Citation|last=Bastos|first=Marco T.|chapter=Digital Journalism And Tabloid Journalism|date=2016-11-18|title=The Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies|pages=217–225|editor-last=Franklin|editor-first=Bob|edition=1|publisher=Routledge|language=en|doi=10.4324/9781315713793-22|isbn=978-1-315-71379-3|chapter-url=http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/15368/1/Bastos%20-%20Digital%20Journalism%20and%20Tabloid%20Journalism%20%28preprint%29.pdf|editor2-last=Eldridge|editor2-first=Scott A.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427141559/http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/15368/1/Bastos%20-%20Digital%20Journalism%20and%20Tabloid%20Journalism%20%28preprint%29.pdf|archive-date=27 April 2019|url-status=live}} It can often depict [[Fake news|inaccurate news]]{{Cite journal|last1=Popović|first1=Virginia|last2=Popović|first2=Predrag|date=December 2014|title=The Twenty-First Century, the Reign of Tabloid Journalism|journal=Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences|language=en|volume=163|pages=12–18|doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.280|doi-access=free}} and misrepresent individuals and situations. ==See also== {{Portal|Journalism}} * [[Benji the Binman]] * [[Disinformation]] * [[Index of journalism articles]] * [[Mediatization (media)]], for the social and political consequences of tabloidization * [[Middle-market newspaper]] * [[Misinformation]] ==References== {{cite book|last=Wilkes|first=Roger|title=Scandal : a scurrilous history of gossip|publisher=Atlantic|publication-place=London|year=2002|isbn=1-903809-63-0|oclc=50434290|url=https://archive.org/details/scandalscurrilou00wilk}} ==Further reading== {{Update section|date=March 2024|reason=per WP:Further reading}} *Bastos, M. T. (2016). [https://web.archive.org/web/20190427141559/http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/15368/1/Bastos%20-%20Digital%20Journalism%20and%20Tabloid%20Journalism%20%28preprint%29.pdf Digital Journalism And Tabloid Journalism]. ''The Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies'', 217–225. {{doi|10.4324/9781315713793-22}} *Popović, V., & Popović, P. (2014). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814063812?via%3Dihub The Twenty-First Century, the Reign of Tabloid Journalism.] ''Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences'', ''163'', 12–18. {{doi|10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.280}} *Gekoski, Anna, Jacqueline M. Gray, and Joanna R. Adler. "What makes a homicide newsworthy? UK national tabloid newspaper journalists tell all." ''British Journal of Criminology'' 52.6 (2012): 1212–1232. *Richardson, John E., and James Stanyer. "[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Stanyer/publication/239775322_Reader_opinion_in_the_digital_age_Tabloid_and_broadsheet_newspaper_websites_and_the_exercise_of_political_voice/links/55ae22c808aed9b7dcdb7327.pdf Reader opinion in the digital age: Tabloid and broadsheet newspaper websites and the exercise of political voice.]" ''Journalism'' 12.8 (2011): 983–1003. {{doi|10.1177/1464884911415974}} *{{cite book|author=Wasserman, Herman|title=Tabloid Journalism in South Africa: True Story!|url=https://archive.org/details/tabloidjournalis0000wass|url-access=registration|year=2010|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-22211-4}} *{{cite book|author=Morton, Paula E.|url=https://archive.org/details/tabloidvalleysup0000mort|title=Tabloid Valley: Supermarket News and American Culture|year=2009|publisher=University Press of Florida|isbn=978-0-8130-3364-8|url-access=registration}} *{{cite book|editor=Zelizer, Barbie|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/changingfacesofj0000unse|title=The Changing Faces of Journalism: Tabloidization, Technology and Truthiness|year=2009|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-77824-4}} *Johansson, Sofia. "Gossip, sport and pretty girls: What does 'trivial' journalism mean to Tabloid Newspaper readers?." ''Journalism Practice'' 2.3 (2008): 402–413. {{doi|10.1080/17512780802281131}} *{{cite book|author=Conboy, Martin|url=https://archive.org/details/tabloidbritainco0000conb|title=Tabloid Britain: Constructing a Community Through Language|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-35553-7|url-access=registration}} ==External links== {{Commons category}} {{Wiktionary|tabloid|red top}} *{{Wikinews-inline|An interview with gossip columnist Michael Musto on the art of celebrity journalism}} {{Media culture}} {{Media manipulation}} {{Journalism}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Tabloid journalism| ]] [[Category:News media manipulation]] [[Category:Media bias]] [[Category:Types of journalism]]