History Extra podcast Sex and sensationalism: a history of the tabloids
Oct 23, 2025
Terry Kirby, journalism lecturer and author of The Newsmongers, dives into the colorful history of tabloid journalism. He explores the origins of tabloids from 19th-century gossip sheets to Murdoch's media empire. Kirby discusses the influence of media moguls like Pulitzer and Hearst, the Daily Mail's appeal for busy commuters, and the Mirror's transformation under Rothermere. The conversation also touches on the tabloids' role in shaping politics and the controversies leading to public distrust, culminating in the infamous phone-hacking scandal.
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Origin Of The Word Tabloid
- The word "tabloid" originally described condensed content, not page size, coined by Alfred Harmsworth in 1900.
- Harmsworth promoted a one-minute news outline aimed at time-pressed readers, launching tabloid journalism's identity.
Sensational News Is Centuries Old
- News-sheets and "strange news" circulated from the early printing press era, focusing on crime, curiosities and gossip.
- These served popular demand for scandal and sensational stories long before modern tabloids emerged.
Founders' Big Visions For Newspapers
- John Gordon Bennett aimed to make his paper the "great organ of social life" mixing commerce, religion, literature and drama.
- Joseph Pulitzer later emphasized "accuracy, accuracy, accuracy" with the who, what, where, when, why and how mantra.
