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Broadsheet
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Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages (typically 22 inches or more). The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of matter, from ballads to political satire.
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Encyclopedia
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages (typically 22 inches or more). The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of matter, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet newspaper was the Dutch Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. published in 1618.
Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and Tabloid/Compact formats.
Description
Many broadsheets measure approximately 29½ by 23½ inches (74.9 cm × 59.7 cm) per full broadsheet spread, twice the size of a standard tabloid. Australian and New Zealand broadsheets always have a paper size of A1 per spread (84.1 cm by 59.4cm).
In the United States the traditional dimensions for the front page half of a broadsheet are 15 inches wide by 22¾ inches long. However in efforts to save newsprint costs many U.S. newspapers (including The Wall Street Journal) are downsizing to 12 inches wide by 22¾ inches long for a folded page.
Many rate cards and specification cards refer to the "broadsheet size" with dimensions representing the front page "half of a broadsheet" size, rather than the full, unfolded broadsheet spread. Some quote actual page size and others quote the "printed area" size.
The two versions of the broadsheet are:
- Full broadsheet - The full broadsheet typically is folded vertically in half so that it forms four pages (the front page front and back and the back page front and back). The four pages are called a spread. Inside broadsheets are nested accordingly.
- Half broadsheet - The half broadsheet is usually an inside page that is not folded vertically and just includes a front and back.
In uncommon instances an entire newspaper can be a two-page half broadsheet or four-page full broadsheet. Totally self-contained advertising circulars inserted in a newspaper in the same format are referred to as broadsheets.
Broadsheets typically are also folded horizontally in half to accommodate newsstand display space. The horizontal fold however does not affect the page numbers and the content remains vertical. The most important newspaper stories are placed "above the (horizontal) fold." This contrasts with tabloids which typically do not have a horizontal fold (although tabloids usually have the four page to a sheet spread format).
Historically, broadsheets developed after the British in 1712 placed a tax on newspapers based on the number of their pages. Larger formats, however, had long been signs of status in printed objects, and still are in many places, and outside Britain the broadsheet developed for other reasons, including style and authority, unrelated to the British tax structure.
The broadsheet has since emerged as the most popular format for the dissemination of printed news. The world's most widely circulated English language daily broadsheet is The Times of India, a leading English language daily newspaper from India, followed closely by The New York Times from the United States, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
History
In medieval and renaissance Britain, news was passed around chiefly through the use of ballads or narrative songs performed by Bards. With the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, these ballads were written down onto small pieces of paper and sold at markets or in large towns and called broadsides. These Broadsides became not only a way for the common man to get his entertainment, but also as a description of current affairs, for ballads were often written on the subject of current events. Through the centuries, the Broadsides were made larger and more detail was included. Better transport systems allowed for these broadsides to reach a much wider audience in a short time, and proved an effective way for current affairs to be distributed. Eventually they were edited to contain multiple pages, a more formal and informative use of language, and were compiled by large groups of journalists. Broadsheet newspapers had been invented.
Printing considerations
Modern printing facilities most efficiently print broadsheet sections in multiples of eight pages (with four front pages and four back pages). The broadsheet is then cut in half during the process. Thus the newsprint rolls used are defined by the width necessary to print four front pages. The width of a newsprint roll is called its web. Thus the new 12 inch wide frontpage broadsheet newspapers in the United States use a 48-inch web newsprint roll.
With profit margins narrowing for newspapers in the wake of competition from broadcast, cable television, and the internet, newspapers are looking to standardize the size of the newsprint roll. The Wall Street Journal with its 15-inch wide frontpage was printed on 60-inch web newsprint. Early adopters in the downsizing of broadsheets initially used a 50-inch web (12½ inch front pages). However the 48-inch web is now rapidly becoming the definitive standard in the U.S. The New York Times held out on the downsizing until July 2006, saying it would stick to its 54-inch web (13½ inch front page). However, the paper adopted the narrower format beginning Monday, August 6, 2007.
The smaller newspapers also have the advantage of being easier to handle particularly among commuters.
Connotations
In some countries, especially the UK and USA, broadsheet newspapers are commonly perceived to be more intellectual in content than their tabloid counterparts, using their greater size to examine stories in more depth, while carrying less sensationalist and celebrity material. This distinction is most obvious on the front page: whereas tabloids tend to have a single story dominated by a headline, broadsheets allow two or more stories to be displayed, the most important at the top of the page - "above the fold." In other countries, such as Spain, a small format is the universal for newspapers - a popular, sensational press has had difficulty taking root - and the tabloid size has no such connotations.
Thus, the distinction regarding specific content is at best a generalization, and the term "tabloid" technically refers only to the paper's size. Serious newspapers in tabloid format, "El País" in Spain and others in Italy, do not make the distinction. Some tabloid-format papers (such as the Daily Mail and Daily Express in the UK) use phrases such as "broadsheet quality in a tabloid format" in an attempt to distinguish themselves from their "tabloid" reputation. In addition, broadsheets often publish supplements, such as sports reviews and less news-oriented content (e.g. the Guardian's "G2" (formerly) or the Times's "Times 2"), in tabloid format.
On the other hand, a few newspapers, such as the German Bild-Zeitung and others throughout central Europe are unashamedly tabloid in content, but still use the physical broadsheet format.
UK broadsheets
In the UK, one major daily broadsheet is distributed nationwide, and two on a Sunday:
The Financial Times is also printed and sold in other countries; as the British equivalent of the Wall Street Journal, it lends its most detailed attention to financial news.
These UK broadsheets have been used for Millwall bricks.
The average circulation of the Times is around 656,000 and the Telegraph sells 908,000 copies daily, while the circulations of the Guardian and Independent, both of them previously published in broadsheet format, are approximately 380,000 and 240,000. The Financial Times sells over 440,000 copies, the Scotsman approximately 70,000 (all figures July 2006).
The Herald and The Press and Journal are Scottish broadsheets, though the latter is not a true national newspaper as it is mostly just distributed in North-East Scotland.
Switch to smaller sizes
In 2003 The Independent started concurrent production of both broadsheet and tabloid ("compact") editions, carrying exactly the same content. The Times did likewise, but with less apparent success, with readers vocally opposing the change. The daily Independent ceased to be available in broadsheet format in May 2004, and The Times followed suit from November 2004; The Scotsman is also now published only in tabloid format. The Guardian switched to the "Berliner" or "midi" format found in some other European countries (slightly larger than a traditional tabloid) on 12 September, 2005. The Courier-Mail, the only daily newspaper in Brisbane, Australia, also changed from broadsheet to tabloid format on March 13, 2006. The only Malaysian broadsheet, New Straits Times, also changed to tabloid in March 2005.
The main motivation cited for this shift is that commuters prefer papers which they can hold easily on public transport, and it is presumably hoped that other readers will also find the smaller formats more convenient. It remains to be seen how this shake-up will affect the usage of the term "broadsheet".
Notably, the Daily Telegraph increased its lead in circulation over The Times when the latter switched to compact size - this is attributed to the backlash of traditional broadsheet readers.
Notable broadsheets
Argentina
- La Nación, the only broadsheet in the country
Australia
Brazil
Almost all Brazilian newspapers are broadsheets, including major publications like:
Canada
About 65% of Canada's daily newspapers are broadsheets. Newspapers are in English, unless stated otherwise.
National
Atlantic Canada
Quebec
Ontario
Western Canada
Chile
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Finland
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Almost all major newspapers in India are broadsheets. Tabloids are mostly found in small circulation local or rural papers.
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Mexico
The Netherlands
Malaysia
New Zealand
- The New Zealand Herald, Auckland
- The Waikato Times, Hamilton
- The Dominion Post, Wellington
- The Press, Christchurch
- The Otago Daily Times, Dunedin
- The Taranaki Daily News, New Plymouth
Pakistan
Panama
Formerly:
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Scotland
Singapore
South Africa
Turkey
Most of the newspapers in the country are printed on this format. Notable ones included;
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Almost all major U.S. newspapers are broadsheets, including major publications like:
Vatican City
See also
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