Newspaper

A newspaper is a daily or weekly periodical containing in various measures news, opinion columns, and advertisements. Newspapers are printed on newsprint.

In the United Kingdom, newspapers can be classified by distribution as local or national and by page size as tabloids and broadsheets. There is often an implication that tabloids cater for more vulgar tastes than broadsheets. Within the tabloid category some titles are classed as red-tops because of the design of their front pages. This term is often used deprecatingly by newspapers that consider themselves more serious.

In Germany, the distinction between "serious" and tabloid papers is usually made according to whether they are available on subscription. The more sensational tabloids such as Bild are commonly called Boulevardzeitungen (boulevard papers), since they are normally available at the newsstand only; by contrast, the more "serious" Abonnementzeitungen (subscription papers) sell a large amount of their circulation to subscribers.

Most nations have at least one newspaper that circulates throughout the whole country, but in the United States and Canada, there are few truly national newspapers, with the exception of USA Today. Large metropolitan newspapers with expanded distribution networks such as the New York Times or Toronto's Globe and Mail often fill the national paper role.

Some newspapers provide their full content on the Internet, either at no cost or for a fee.

The person who runs a newspaper is often called the Publisher, and the person responsible for news and opinion content is often called the Editor, or Editor-in-Chief.

The number of copies sold on an average day is called the newspaper's circulation, and is used to set advertising rates. 1995 data from the United Nations indicate that the best-selling newspapers in the world were in Japan, which had three daily papers with a circulation well above 4 million. Germany's Bild, with a circulation of 4.5 million, was the only other paper in that category. USA Today sells about 2 million copies a day, making it the biggest paper in the U.S.

The first regular English language newspaper, The Daily Courant[?] was published for the first time on March 11, 1702.

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