''The Planet on Sunday'' was a British tabloid

Sunday newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports an ...

that launched on 16 June 1996 and ran for only one edition. It was founded at a cost of £500,000 by Clifford Hards, an entrepreneur who made his fortune through operating budget coach holidays from the UK to Austria and Eastern Europe, with the intention of the paper highlighting environmental and conservation issues. The paper was edited by former ''

Sunday Sport The ''Sunday Sport'' is a British tabloid newspaper that was founded by David Sullivan in 1986. It mainly publishes images of topless female glamour models, and is well known for publishing sensationalized, fictionalized, and satirical conten ...

'' journalist Austin Mitchelson, and aimed at the same reader demographic as ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...

'' and the '' Sunday Express''. With content that focused primarily on environmental issues, something about which Hards felt strongly, ''The Planet on Sunday''s inaugural edition set out the newspaper's agenda—calling for a reduction in international trade, something Hards felt would lead to less environmental pollution, and arguing that the United Kingdom would be better off outside the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. But the newspaper was noted for some bizarre stories which had a sensationalist tone, among them a report about a jilted gorilla that had resorted to violence, and a claim that sunbathing could lead to people developing AIDS-type illnesses. Also featured was a Dan Dare comic strip by Sydney Jordan and Theyen Rich, the character having been updated for the 1990s. ''The Planet on Sunday'' sold 115,000 copies, but Hards himself was reportedly unhappy with the content. On 20 June 1996 ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' reported that "he found little else to please him than the Dan Dare comic strip". At a meeting of newspaper staff on 19 June, and following differences with his editor, Hards announced that the newspaper would cease publication. "I feel it is better to withdraw than produce a publication that does not match the ideals of the

environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...

. I do however, appreciate how hard the staff have worked."

References

Newspapers established in 1996 Publications disestablished in 1996 1996 establishments in the United Kingdom Environmental mass media 1996 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct Sunday newspapers published in the United Kingdom {{UK-newspaper-stub