''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its

sister paper A sister paper is one of two or more newspapers which share a common owner, but are published with different content, different names, and sometimes (but not necessarily) in different geographical areas. Such an arrangement can offer economies o ...

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' (founded in 1821), are published by Times Media, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by

News Corp The second and current incarnation of News Corporation, doing business as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was formed on ...

. ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' were founded independently and have had common ownership only since 1966. It is considered a

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...

in the UK. ''The Times'' was the first newspaper to bear that name, inspiring numerous other papers around the world. In countries where these other titles are popular, the newspaper is often referred to as or , although the newspaper is of national scope and distribution. ''The Times'' had an average daily circulation of 365,880 in March 2020; in the same period, ''The Sunday Times'' had an average weekly circulation of 647,622. The two newspapers also had 600,000 digital-only paid subscribers as of September 2024. An American edition of ''The Times'' has been published since 6 June 2006. A complete historical file of the digitised paper, up to 2019, is available online from Gale Cengage Learning. The political position of ''The Times'' is considered to be

centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

. The Times and The Sunday Times launched their own radio station, Times Radio, in 2020. Its shows cover news and politics, both nationally and internationally, and had an average weekly reach of 604,000 listeners at the end of 2024.

History

1785 to 1890

''The Times'' was founded by publisher John Walter (1738–1812) on 1 January 1785 as ''The Daily Universal Register,'' with Walter in the role of editor. Walter had lost his job by the end of 1784 after the insurance company for which he worked went bankrupt due to losses from a Jamaican hurricane. Unemployed, Walter began a new business venture. At that time, Henry Johnson invented the logography, a new typography that was reputedly faster and more precise (although three years later, it was proved less efficient than advertised). Walter bought the logography's patent and, with it, opened a printing house to produce books. The first publication of ''The Daily Universal Register'' was on 1 January 1785. Walter changed the title after 940 editions on 1 January 1788 to ''The Times''. In 1803, Walter handed ownership and editorship to his son of the same name. Walter Sr's pioneering efforts to obtain Continental news, especially from France, helped build the paper's reputation among policy makers and financiers, in spite of a sixteen-month incarceration in Newgate Prison for

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

s printed in ''The Times''. ''The Times'' used contributions from significant figures in the fields of politics, science, literature, and the arts to build its reputation. For much of its early life, the profits of ''The Times'' were very large and the competition minimal, so it could pay far better than its rivals for information or writers. Beginning in 1814, the paper was printed on the new steam-driven cylinder press developed by Friedrich Koenig (1774–1833). In 1815, ''The Times'' had a circulation of 5,000. Thomas Barnes was appointed general editor in 1817. In the same year, the paper's printer, James Lawson, died and passed the business onto his son, John Joseph Lawson (1802–1852). Under the editorship of Barnes and his successor in 1841,

John Thadeus Delane John Thadeus Delane (11 October 1817 – 22 November 1879), editor of ''The Times'' (London), was born in London. He was the second son of W.F.A. Delane, a barrister, of an old Irish family, who about 1832 was appointed by ''Times'' publi ...

, the influence of ''The Times'' rose to great heights, especially in politics and amongst the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. Peter Fraser and Edward Sterling were two noted journalists, and gained for ''The Times'' the pompous/satirical nickname 'The Thunderer' (from "We thundered out the other day an article on social and political reform."). The increased circulation and influence of the paper were based in part to its early adoption of the steam-driven rotary printing press. Distribution via steam trains to rapidly growing concentrations of urban populations helped ensure the profitability of the paper and its growing influence. Sir John Everett Millais - Peace Concluded - Google Art Project

Sir John Everett Millais - Peace Concluded - Google Art Project

''The Times'' was one of the first newspapers to send war correspondents to cover particular conflicts. William Howard Russell, the paper's correspondent with the army in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, was immensely influential with his dispatches back to England.

1890 to 1981

''The Times'' faced financial failure in 1890 under Arthur Fraser Walter, but it was rescued by an energetic editor, Charles Frederic Moberly Bell. During his tenure (1890–1911), ''The Times'' became associated with selling the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' using aggressive American marketing methods introduced by Horace Everett Hooper and his advertising executive, Henry Haxton. Due to legal fights between the ''Britannica's'' two owners, Hooper and Walter Montgomery Jackson, ''The Times'' severed its connection in 1908 and was bought by pioneering newspaper magnate, Alfred Harmsworth, later Lord Northcliffe. In editorials published on 29 and 31 July 1914, Wickham Steed, the ''Times's'' Chief Editor, argued that the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

should enter

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. On 8 May 1920, also under the editorship of Steed, ''The Times'', in an editorial, endorsed the anti-Semitic fabrication '' The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion'' as a genuine document, and called Jews the world's greatest danger. In the leader entitled "The Jewish Peril, a Disturbing Pamphlet: Call for Inquiry", Steed wrote about ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'':

What are these 'Protocols'? Are they authentic? If so, what malevolent assembly concocted these plans and gloated over their exposition? Are they forgery? If so, whence comes the uncanny note of prophecy, prophecy in part fulfilled, in part so far gone in the way of fulfillment?".

The following year, when Philip Graves, the

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(modern

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) correspondent of ''The Times'', exposed ''The Protocols'' as a forgery, ''The Times'' retracted the editorial of the previous year. In 1922, John Jacob Astor, son of the 1st Viscount Astor, bought ''The Times'' from the Northcliffe estate. The paper gained a measure of notoriety in the 1930s with its advocacy of German

appeasement Appeasement, in an International relations, international context, is a diplomacy, diplomatic negotiation policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power (international relations), power with intention t ...

; editor Geoffrey Dawson was closely allied with government supporters of appeasement, most notably

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...

. Candid news reports by Norman Ebbut from Berlin that warned of Nazi warmongering were rewritten in London to support the appeasement policy. Kim Philby, a double agent with primary allegiance to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, was a correspondent for the newspaper in Spain during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

of the late 1930s. Philby was admired for his courage in obtaining high-quality reporting from the front lines of the bloody conflict. He later joined British Military Intelligence ( MI6) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, was promoted into senior positions after the war ended, and defected to the

when discovery was inevitable in 1963. Between 1941 and 1946, the left-wing British historian E. H. Carr was assistant editor. Carr was well known for the strongly pro-Soviet tone of his editorials. In December 1944, when fighting broke out in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

between the Greek Communist ELAS and the British Army, Carr in a ''Times''

leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

sided with the Communists, leading

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

to condemn him and the article in a speech to the House of Commons. As a result of Carr's editorial, ''The Times'' became popularly known during that stage of World War II as "the threepenny '' Daily Worker''" (the price of the Communist Party's ''Daily Worker'' being one penny). Roy Thomson Cropped

On 3 May 1966, it resumed printing news on the front page; previously, the front page had been given over to small advertisements, usually of interest to the moneyed classes in British society. Also in 1966, the Royal Arms, which had been a feature of the newspaper's masthead since its inception, was abandoned. In the same year, members of the

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business sector, business, Socialite, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With Germans, German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to th ...

sold the paper to Canadian publishing magnate Roy Thomson. His

Thomson Corporation Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. It was established in 1989 following a merger between International Thomson Organization and Thomson Newspapers. In 2008, it purchased Reuters Group to form Thomson Reut ...

brought it under the same ownership as ''

'' to form Times Newspapers Limited. An industrial dispute prompted the management to shut down the paper for nearly a year, from 1 December 1978 to 12 November 1979. The Thomson Corporation management was struggling to run the business due to the 1979 energy crisis and union demands. Management sought a buyer who was in a position to guarantee the survival of both titles, had the resources, and was committed to funding the introduction of modern printing methods. Several suitors appeared, including

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

, Tiny Rowland and Lord Rothermere; however, only one buyer was in a position to meet the full Thomson remit, Australian media magnate

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

. Robert Holmes à Court, another Australian magnate, had previously tried to buy ''The Times'' in 1980.

From 1981

In 1981, ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' were bought from Thomson by Rupert Murdoch's News International. The acquisition followed three weeks of intensive bargaining with the unions by company negotiators John Collier and Bill O'Neill. Murdoch gave legal undertakings to maintain separate journalism resources for the two titles. The Royal Arms were reintroduced to the masthead at about this time, but whereas previously it had been that of the reigning monarch, it would now be that of the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

, who were on the throne when the newspaper was founded. After 14 years as editor, William Rees-Mogg resigned upon completion of the change of ownership. Murdoch began to make his mark on the paper by appointing Harold Evans as his replacement.Stewart, p. 51 One of his most important changes was the introduction of new technology and efficiency measures. Between March 1981 and May 1982, following agreement with print unions, the hot-metal Linotype printing process used to print ''The Times'' since the 19th century was phased out and replaced by computer input and photocomposition. ''The Times'' and the ''Sunday Times'' were able to reduce their print room staff by half as a result. However, direct input of text by journalists ("single-stroke" input) was still not achieved, and this was to remain an interim measure until the Wapping dispute of 1986, when ''The Times'' moved from New Printing House Square in Gray's Inn Road (near

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

) to new offices in Wapping.

Robert Fisk Robert William Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was an English writer and journalist. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. As an international correspo ...

, seven times British International Journalist of the Year, resigned as foreign correspondent in 1988 over what he saw as "political censorship" of his article on the shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655 in July 1988. He wrote in detail about his reasons for resigning from the paper due to meddling with his stories, and the paper's pro-Israel stance. In June 1990, ''The Times'' ceased its policy of using courtesy titles ("Mr", "Mrs", or "Miss" prefixes) for living persons before full names on the first reference, but it continues to use them before surnames on subsequent references. In 1992, it accepted the use of "Ms" for unmarried women "if they express a preference." In November 2003, News International began producing the newspaper in both broadsheet and tabloid sizes. Over the next year, the broadsheet edition was withdrawn from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and the West Country. Since 1 November 2004, the paper has been printed solely in tabloid format. On 6 June 2005, ''The Times'' redesigned its Letters page, dropping the practice of printing correspondents' full postal addresses. Published letters were long regarded as one of the paper's key constituents. According to its leading article "From Our Own Correspondents", the reason for the removal of full postal addresses was to fit more letters onto the page. In a 2007 meeting with the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Select Committee on Communications, which was investigating media ownership and the news, Murdoch stated that the law and the independent board prevented him from exercising editorial control. In May 2008, printing of ''The Times'' switched from Wapping to new plants at Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, and

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, enabling the paper to be produced with full colour on every page for the first time. On 26 July 2012, to coincide with the official start of the London 2012 Olympics and the issuing of a series of souvenir front covers, ''The Times'' added the suffix "of London" to its masthead. In March 2016, the paper dropped its rolling digital coverage for a series of 'editions' of the paper at 9am, midday, and 5pm on weekdays. The change also saw a redesign of the paper's app for smartphones and tablets. In April 2018, IPSO upheld a complaint against ''The Times'' for its report of a court hearing in a Tower Hamlets fostering case. In April 2019, culture secretary Jeremy Wright said he was minded to allow a request by News UK to relax the legal undertakings given in 1981 to maintain separate journalism resources for ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times''. In 2019, IPSO upheld complaints against ''The Times'' over their article "GPS data shows container visited trafficking hotspot", and for three articles as part of a series on pollution in Britain's waterways: "No river safe for bathing", "Filthy Business", and "Behind the story". IPSO also upheld complaints in 2019 against articles headlined "Funding secret of scientists against hunt trophy ban," and "Britons lose out to rush of foreign medical students." In 2019, ''The Times'' published an article about Imam Abdullah Patel that wrongly claimed Patel had blamed Israel for the 2003 murder of a British police officer by a terror suspect in Manchester. The story also wrongly claimed that Patel ran a primary school that had been criticised by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

for segregating parents at events, which Ofsted said was contrary to "British democratic principles." ''The Times'' settled Patel's defamation claim by issuing an apology and offering to pay damages and legal costs. Patel's solicitor, Zillur Rahman, said the case "highlights the shocking level of journalism to which the Muslim community are often subject". In 2019, ''The Times'' published an article titled "Female Circumcision is like clipping a nail, claimed speaker". The article featured a photo of Sultan Choudhury beside the headline, leading some readers to incorrectly infer that Choudhury had made the comment. Choudhury lodged a complaint with the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and sued ''The Times'' for libel. In 2020, ''The Times'' issued an apology, amended its article, and agreed to pay Choudhury damages and legal costs. Choudhury's solicitor, Nishtar Saleem, said, "This is another example of irresponsible journalism. Publishing sensational excerpts on a 'free site' while concealing the full article behind a paywall is a dangerous game". In December 2020, Cage and Moazzam Begg received damages of £30,000 plus costs in a libel case they had brought against ''The Times'' newspaper. In June 2020, a report in ''The Times'' suggested that Cage and Begg were supporting a man who had been arrested in relation to a knife attack in Reading in which three men were murdered. ''The Times'' report also suggested that Cage and Begg were excusing the actions of the accused man by mentioning mistakes made by the police and others. In addition to paying damages, ''The Times'' printed an apology. Cage stated that the damages amount would be used to "expose state-sponsored Islamophobia and those complicit with it in the press. ... The Murdoch press empire has actively supported xenophobic elements and undermined principles of open society and accountability. ... We will continue to shine a light on war criminals and torture apologists and press barons who fan the flames of hate". Long described as Britain’s "newspaper of record", ''The Times'' was forced to correct a false article in January 2025 about

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

(EV) sales, following successful complaint to IPSO.

Content

''The Times'' features news for the first half of the paper; the Opinion/Comment section begins after the first news section, with world news normally following this. The Register, which contains obituaries, a Court & Social section, and related material, follows the business pages on the centre spread. The sports section is at the end of the main paper.

''Times2''

''The Times'' main supplement, every day, is ''times2'', featuring various columns. It was discontinued in early March 2010, but reintroduced on 12 October 2010 after discontinuation was criticised. Its regular features include a puzzles section called ''Mind Games''. Its previous incarnation began on 5 September 2005, before which it was called ''T2'' and previously ''Times 2''. The supplement contains arts and lifestyle features, TV and radio listings, and theatre reviews. The newspaper employs Richard Morrison as its classical music critic.

''The Game''

''The Game'' is included in the newspaper on Mondays, and details all the weekend's football activity (

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

, League One and League Two.) The Scottish edition of ''The Game'' also includes results and analysis from

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

games. During the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

and

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

Euros, there is a daily supplement of The Game.

Saturday supplements

The Saturday edition of ''The Times'' contains a variety of supplements. Beginning on 5 July 2003 (issue 67807) Located in: and ending after 17 January 2009 (issue 69535), Saturday issues of ''The Times'' came with a weekly magazine called ''TheKnowledge'' containing listings for the upcoming week (from that Saturday to the next Friday) compiled by PA Arts & Leisure (part of Press Association Ltd). Its taglines include "Your pocket guide to what's on in London", "The World's Greatest City, Cut Down To Size", and "Your critical guide to the cultural week". These supplements were relaunched on 24 January 2009 as: ''Sport'', ''Saturday Review'' (arts, books, TV listings, and ideas), ''Weekend'' (including travel and lifestyle features), ''Playlist'' (an entertainment listings guide), and ''The Times Magazine'' (columns on various topics).

''The Times Magazine''

''The Times Magazine'' features columns touching on various subjects such as celebrities, fashion and beauty, food and drink, homes and gardens, or simply writers' anecdotes. Notable contributors include Giles Coren, Food and Drink Writer of the Year in 2005 and Nadiya Hussain, winner of ''

The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...

''.

Online presence

''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' have had an online presence since 1996, originally at ''the-times.co.uk'' and ''sunday-times.co.uk'', and later at ''timesonline.co.uk'' and ''thetimes.co.uk''. Both papers are now hosted on ''thetimes.com''. There are also iOS and Android editions of both newspapers available in the same app, The Times: UK & World News. Both papers are also hosted in the Classic app, a purpose-built tablet-only application. Since July 2010, News UK has required readers who do not subscribe to the print edition to pay £2 per week to read ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' online. Visits to the websites decreased by 87% after the paywall was introduced in October 2010, from 21 million unique users per month to 2.7 million one month later. In November 2024, ''thetimes.com'' site had a readership of 103 million. In October 2011, there were around 111,000 subscribers to The Times' digital products, which increased to 600,000 digital subscribers by September 2024. A Reuters Institute survey in 2024 ranked ''The Times'' as having the ninth highest trust rating out of 15 different outlets polled. The Times Digital Archive is available by subscription. The

Wikipedia community The Wikipedia community, collectively and individually known as Wikipedians, is an online community of volunteers who create and maintain Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. Wikipedians may or may not consider themselves part of the Wikimedia mo ...

considers ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' to be generally reliable sources.

Ownership

''The Times'' has had the following eight owners since its foundation in 1785: * 1785 to 1803: John Walter * 1803 to 1847: John Walter, 2nd * 1847 to 1894: John Walter III * 1894 to 1908: Arthur Fraser Walter * 1908 to 1922: Lord Northcliffe * 1922 to 1966:

* 1966 to 1981: Roy Thomson * 1981 to present: News UK (formerly News International, a wholly owned subsidiary of

, run by

) File:John walter.jpg, John Walter, the founder of ''The Times'' File:John Walter II.jpg, John Walter II File:John Walter 1818–1894.jpg, John Walter III File:British newspaper and publishing magnate Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe.jpg, Lord Northcliffe File:Roy Thomson Cropped.jpg, Roy Thomson File:Rupert Murdoch - Flickr - Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer.jpg,

Readership

''The Times'' had a circulation of 70,405 on 5 September 1870, due to a reduction in price and the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. ''The Times'' had a circulation of 150,000 in March 1914, due to a reduction in price. ''The Times'' had a circulation of 248,338 in 1958, a circulation of 408,300 in 1968, and a circulation of 295,863 in 1978.Steve Peak and Paul Fisher (eds). The Media Guide 2001. (The Guardian Media Guide 2001). Ninth Annual Edition. Mathew Clayton. 2000. ISBN 1841154237. p 58. At the time of Harold Evans' appointment as editor in 1981, ''The Times'' had an average daily sale of 282,000 copies in comparison to the 1.4 million daily sales of its traditional rival, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''. By 1988, The Times had a circulation of 443,462. By November 2005, ''The Times'' sold an average of 691,283 copies per day, the second-highest of any British "

quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory *Energy quality, used in various science discipli ...

" newspaper (after ''The Daily Telegraph'', which had a circulation of 903,405 copies in the period), and the highest in terms of full-rate sales. By March 2014, average daily circulation of ''The Times'' had fallen to 394,448 copies, compared to ''The Daily Telegraphs 523,048, with the two retaining respectively the second-highest and highest circulations among British "quality" newspapers. In contrast, ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'', the highest-selling "tabloid" daily newspaper in the United Kingdom, sold an average of 2,069,809 copies in March 2014, and the ''Daily Mail'', the highest-selling "middle market" British daily newspaper, sold an average of 1,708,006 copies in the period. ''The Sunday Times'' has significantly higher circulation than ''The Times'', and sometimes outsells ''The Sunday Telegraph''. In January 2019, ''The Times'' had a circulation of 417,298 and ''The Sunday Times'' 712,291. In a 2009 national readership survey, ''The Times'' was found to have the highest number of

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship (broadcasting), flagship ABC Television (Australian TV network), A ...

25–44 readers and the largest number of readers in London of any of the "quality" papers.

Typeface

''The Times'' is the originator of the widely used Times New Roman typeface, originally developed by Stanley Morison of ''The Times'' in collaboration with

Monotype Imaging Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc., founded as Lanston Monotype Machine Company in 1887 in Philadelphia by Tolbert Lanston, is an American (historically Anglo-American) company that specializes in digital typesetting and typeface design for use wit ...

for its legibility in low-tech printing. In November 2006, ''The Times'' began printing headlines in a new typeface, Times Modern. ''The Times'' was printed in

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

format for 219 years, but switched to

compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...

size in 2004 in an attempt to appeal more to younger readers and commuters using public transport. ''The Sunday Times'' remains a broadsheet. Times New Roman-sample

In 1908, ''The Times'' started using the ''Monotype Modern'' typeface. ''The Times'' commissioned the

serif In typography, a serif () is a small line or stroke regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a particular font or family of fonts. A typeface or "font family" making use of serifs is called a serif typeface ( ...

typeface A typeface (or font family) is a design of Letter (alphabet), letters, Numerical digit, numbers and other symbols, to be used in printing or for electronic display. Most typefaces include variations in size (e.g., 24 point), weight (e.g., light, ...

'' Times New Roman'', created by Victor Lardent at the English branch of Monotype, in 1931. It was commissioned after Stanley Morison had written an article criticising ''The Times'' for being badly printed and typographically antiquated. Victor Lardent, an artist from ''The Times''' advertising department, created the typeface under Morison's supervision. Morison used an older typeface named Plantin as the basis for his design but made revisions for legibility and economy of space. ''Times New Roman'' made its debut in the issue of 3 October 1932. After one year, the design was released for commercial sale. ''The Times'' stayed with ''Times New Roman'' for 40 years, but new production techniques and the format change from

to tabloid in 2004 have caused the newspaper to switch typeface five times since 1972. However, all the new typeface have been variants of the original New Roman type: * ''Times Europa'' was designed by Walter Tracy in 1972 for ''The Times'', as a sturdier alternative to the Times font family, designed for the demands of faster printing presses and cheaper paper. The typeface features more open counter spaces. * ''Times Roman'' replaced ''Times Europa'' on 30 August 1982. * ''Times Millennium'' was made in 1991, drawn by Gunnlaugur Briem on the instructions of Aurobind Patel, composing manager of News International. * ''Times Classic'' first appeared in 2001. Designed as an economical face by the British-type team of Dave Farey and Richard Dawson, it took advantage of the new PC-based publishing system at the newspaper while obviating the production shortcomings of its predecessor, ''Times Millennium''. The new typeface included 120 letters per font. Initially, the family comprised ten fonts, but a condensed version was added in 2004. * ''Times Modern'' was unveiled on 20 November 2006, as the successor of ''Times Classic''. Designed for improving legibility in smaller font sizes, it uses 45-degree angled bracket serifs. Ben Preston, the deputy editor of ''The Times'', and designer Neville Brody led Research Studios in creating the typeface, which Elsner + Flake published as EF Times Modern.

Political alignment

Historically, the paper was not overtly pro-

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

or Whig, but has been a long time bastion of the British Establishment and Empire. In 1959, the historian of journalism Allan Nevins analysed the importance of ''The Times'' in shaping the views of events of London's elite, writing:

For much more than a century ''The Times'' has been an integral and important part of the political structure of Great Britain. Its news and its editorial comment have in general been carefully coordinated, and have at most times been handled with an earnest sense of responsibility. While the paper has admitted some trivia to its columns, its whole emphasis has been on important public affairs treated with an eye to the best interests of Britain. To guide this treatment, the editors have for long periods been in close touch with
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...
.

''The Times'' adopted a stance described as "peculiarly detached" at the 1945 general election; although it was increasingly critical of the Conservative Party's campaign, it did not advocate a vote for any one party. However, the newspaper reverted to the Conservatives for the next election five years later. It supported the Conservatives for the subsequent three elections, followed by support for both the Conservatives and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

for the next five elections, expressly supporting a Con-Lib coalition in 1974. The paper then backed the Conservatives solidly until 1997, when it declined to make any party endorsement but supported individual (primarily Eurosceptic) candidates. For the 2001 general election, ''The Times'' declared its support for

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

's Labour government, which was re-elected by a landslide (although not as large as in 1997). It supported Labour again in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, when Labour achieved a third successive win, though with a reduced majority. In 2004, according to MORI, the voting intentions of its readership were 40% for the Conservative Party, 29% for the Liberal Democrats, and 26% for Labour. For the 2010 general election, the newspaper declared its support for the Conservatives once again; the election ended in the Tories taking the most votes and seats but having to form a

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

with the Liberal Democrats in order to form a government as they had failed to gain an overall majority. Its changes in political alignment make it the most varied newspaper in terms of political support in British history. Some columnists in ''The Times'' are connected to the Conservative Party, such as Daniel Finkelstein, Tim Montgomerie, Matthew Parris, and Matt Ridley, but there are also columnists connected to the Labour Party, such as David Aaronovitch and Jenni Russell. ''The Times'' occasionally makes endorsements for foreign elections. In November 2012, it endorsed a second term for Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, although it also expressed reservations about his foreign policy. During the 2019 Conservative leadership election, ''The Times'' endorsed

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

and subsequently endorsed the Conservative Party in the general election of that year. In 2022, Tony Gallagher was appointed to replace John Witherow, who had served nine years as editor. A former '' Sun'' editor, Gallagher enthusiastically backed Brexit during the 2016 EU referendum. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', "The Times' readership is split politically, with journalists at the outlet speculating on how Gallagher will shape the paper's editorial line as the prospect of a Labour government became more likely (in 2024)." The Times did not endorse any political party at the 2024 general election. In its leader article, it stated that Labour “cannot expect an endorsement” as it had “yet to earn the trust of the British people” and had been “sparing with the truth about what it will do in office”.

Sponsorships

''The Times'', along with the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

, sponsored the BFI London Film Festival from 2003 to 2009. It also sponsors the Cheltenham Literature Festival and the Asia House Festival of Asian Literature at Asia House, London.

Editors

* John Walter 1785 to 1803 * John Walter, Jnr 1803 to 1812 * Sir John Stoddart 1812 to 1816 * Thomas Barnes 1817 to 1841 *

1841 to 1877 * Thomas Chenery 1877 to 1884 * George Earle Buckle 1884 to 1912 * George Geoffrey Dawson 1912 to 1919 * George Sydney Freeman 1919 (two-month 'inter-regnum') * Henry Wickham Steed 1919 to 1922 * George Geoffrey Dawson1923 to 1941 * Robert McGowan Barrington-Ward 1941 to 1948 * William Francis Casey 1948 to 1952 * Sir William John Haley 1952 to 1966 * William Rees-Mogg 1967 to 1981 * Harold Evans 1981 to 1982 * Charles Douglas-Home 1982 to 1985 * Charles Wilson 1985 to 1990 * Simon Jenkins 1990 to 1992 * Peter Stothard 1992 to 2002 * Robert Thomson 2002 to 2007 * James Harding 2007 to 2012 * John Witherow 2013 to 2022 * Tony Gallagher 2022 to date

Related publications

An Irish digital edition of the paper was launched in September 2015 at TheTimes.ie. A print edition was launched in June 2017, replacing the international edition previously distributed in Ireland. The Irish edition was set to close in June 2019 with the loss of 20 jobs. '' The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'', becoming a separately paid-for weekly literature and society magazine in 1914. The ''TLS'' is owned and published by News International and co-operates closely with ''The Times'', with its online version hosted on ''The Times'' website, and its editorial offices based in 1 London Bridge Street, London. Between 1951 and 1966, ''The Times'' published a separately paid-for quarterly science review, '' The Times Science Review''. ''The Times'' started a new, free, monthly science magazine, ''Eureka'', in October 2009. The magazine closed in October 2012. ''The Times Review of Industry'' (which began in 1947) and ''Technology'' (which began in 1957) merged in March 1963 to become ''The Times Review of Industry & Technology''. From 1952, ''The Times Review of Industry'' included the ''London and Cambridge Economic Bulletin''. Times Atlases have been produced since 1895. The Collins Bartholomew imprint of HarperCollins Publishers is currently responsible for producing them. The flagship product is '' The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World''. In 1971, ''The Times'' began publishing the ''Times Higher Education Supplement'' (now known as the ''

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'') which focuses its coverage on tertiary education.

Historical value

In 1915, R P Farley said "the files of the Times must be constantly studied" as an authority for the political and social history of the English people during the period from the Reform Bill 1832 to the Education Act 1870 (1832 to 1870). From 1971 to 1973, John Joseph Bagley said ''The Times'' is "valuable" as a source of nineteenth-century English history and that the annual index to ''The Times'' is useful for the twentieth century. In 2003, Richard Krzys said ''The Times'' is very reliable as a source of history. In 2016, Denise Bates said ''The Times'' is "indispensable" as a source for historical events of national importance. In 2019, James Oldham said ''The Times'' is an important source for nisi prius trials. In 2015, Johnston and Plummer said that ''The Times'' is an important source for music reviews.

In popular culture

In the

dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

n future world of

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's '' Nineteen Eighty-Four'', ''The Times'' has been transformed into an organ of the totalitarian ruling party. The book's lead character, Winston Smith is employed to rewrite past issues of the newspaper for the Ministry of Truth. Rex Stout's fictional detective, Nero Wolfe is described as fond of solving the London ''Times'' crossword puzzle at his New York home, in preference to those of American papers. In the James Bond series by

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

reads ''The Times''. As described by Fleming in '' From Russia, with Love,'' ''The Times'' was "the only paper that Bond ever read."

References

External links

*
Times (London, England) Collection
at the Harry Ransom Center * (archives) * *

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...

's satir
on the mid-nineteenth century ''Times''
* Journalism Now: ''The Times'' �
Winchester University Journalism History project on ''The Times'' in the 19th century

including
History and Heritage section
detailing landmark ''Times'' atlases
Archive from 1785 to 2008
– full text and original layout, searchable (not free of charge, registration required) *
''The Times'' editor Robert Thomson lecture online: From the editorial desk of ''The Times'', RMIT School of Applied Communication Public Lecture series
{{DEFAULTSORT:Times, The Centre-right newspapers Conservative media in the United Kingdom National newspapers published in the United Kingdom Newspapers published in London News Corporation subsidiaries Newspapers established in 1785 1785 establishments in England 1785 establishments in Great Britain Daily newspapers published in the United Kingdom