The Daily Mirror

The Daily Mirror, launched in 1903, is a British national daily tabloid; since 1999 it has been owned by Trinity Mirror. The news papers has had numerous changes of its masterhead. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title was ‘The Mirror.’ The paper also has a Sunday version, which means there is production for seven days a week.

From it start to present day

The paper originally received its name ‘The Mirror’ from its founder, Lord Northcliffe, as he intended it to be the “mirror of feminine life" when it was first launched as he wanted it to be aimed at women. However, the remit then became broader, and in 1904 its masthead briefly changed to The Daily Illustrated Mirror. With the addition of more illustrations and a cover price drop, along with a statement that the paper was for both genders, popularity increased and the name reverted to The Mirror not long after. In 1955, The Mirror began a Northern edition in Manchester from its collaboration with Sunday Pictorial. This introduced the Andy Capp cartoon in 1957, a feature which is now synonymous with the paper.

The Mirror had become the United Kingdom’s best-selling daily tabloid newspaper by the mid 20th century, mostly due to the mass working class readership it had acquired. In attempt to move away from the typical tabloid image, the Mirror changed the colour of its masterhead to black in 2002. The 'red top' returned a few years later however in 2005.

Controversy

the Mirror has come under scrutiny, particularly under the editorship of Piers Morgan, due to its controversial and often offensive content. One example was that before the Euro 96 semi-final between England and Germany, a headline was printed which had correlations to the war between both nations. There was heavy criticism, and the Editor was forced to apologise.