Belfast News Letter
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''News Letter'' is one of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
's main daily newspapers, published from Monday to Saturday. It is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737. The newspaper's editorial stance and readership, while originally
republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
at the time of its inception, is now unionist. Its primary competitors are the ''
Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...
'' and ''
The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewpoint, though it als ...
''. The ''News Letter'' has changed hands several times since the mid-1990s, and is now owned by JPIMedia (since 2018). It was formerly known as the ''Belfast News Letter'', but its coverage spans the whole of Northern Ireland (and often
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
), and the word ''
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
'' does not appear on the masthead any more.


History

Founded in 1737, the ''News Letter'' was printed in Joy's Entry in Belfast. It is one of a series of narrow alleys in the city centre, and is currently home to Henry's Pub (formerly McCracken's) – named after Henry Joy McCracken, an Irish Presbyterian and a leading member in the north of Ireland of the republican Society of the United Irishmen, and the grandson of the ''News Letter'' founder. The Joy family were of
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
descent and were very active in the life of 18th-century Belfast, being noted for compiling materials about its history. Francis Joy, who founded the paper, had come to Belfast early in the century from the County Antrim village of
Killead Killead () is a hamlet and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is near Aldergrove and Antrim and is accessed from the A26 Tully Road. It had a population of 81 people (32 households) in the 2011 Census. (2001 Census: 78 peopl ...
. In Belfast, he married the daughter of the town
sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
(mayor), and set up a practice as an attorney. In 1737, in settlement of a debt, he obtained a small printing press and used it to publish the town's first newspaper in Bridge Street. The family later bought a paper mill in
Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...
, and were able to produce enough paper not only for their own publication but for the whole of
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
. The earliest available edition of the ''News Letter'' that survives is from 3 October 1738 (which is equivalent to 14 October in the modern calendar). Samples from that antiquated edition include reports about a highway robbery (where a bandit "took from a Sardinian Gentleman a Purse of Guineas and a rich Scimitar", among other things) at Newbury and the theft of a horse ("Four Years Old, and about Fourteen hands high") at Ballyhome. Over the centuries, the ''News Letter'' reports have spanned the rule of 77 different prime ministers and 10 monarchs. It is one of the only newspapers still in business which reported on the US Declaration of Independence (carrying the news in an addition in late August 1776). Originally published three times weekly, it became daily in 1855. Before the
partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. I ...
, the ''News Letter'' was distributed island-wide.


The Troubles

On 20 March 1972 the newspaper's offices, then in Donegall Street in the north of the city centre, were bombed by the IRA. The paper reported at the time that "two false alarms were phoned in about another bomb just around the corner in Church Street; people were evacuated – towards the real bomb". It detonated at 11.58 am, three minutes after an accurate warning had been given about the bomb's whereabouts. Seven people died, and over 140 were injured (with some staff among the wounded). Nevertheless, the paper came out the next day. One of the recurring motifs of the ''News Letter'' editorial line today is to remind people of the scale of the paramilitary bloodshed during the Troubles, with the vast bulk of crimes being unsolved.


Today

In recent years, the paper's business model has focussed on increasing subscriptions (home delivery and collection for the print edition, mobile devices/laptops for the digital one). A paywall structure is in operation online, allowing people to read five articles per week without subscribing (though some content is purposely kept behind the paywall). In the second half of 2016 the ''News Letter'' was the fastest-growing regional news site in the UK. Historical copies of the ''News Letter'', dating back to 1828, are available to search and view in digitised form at the
British Newspaper Archive The British Newspaper Archive web site provides access to searchable digitized archives of British and Irish newspapers. It was launched in November 2011. History The British Library Newspapers section was based in Colindale in north London, u ...
. There are also historic copies of the ''News Letter'' available for public access in the Belfast Newspaper Library, at the north end of the city centre, attached to the main Belfast Central Library. Back copies of the physical newspaper can be bought, going back three months.


Other publications

The paper publishes the agricultural supplement ''Farming Life'' on Wednesdays and Saturdays, included within the newspaper itself. It publishes a weekend supplement on Saturdays, containing features and commentary and TV guide. It also publishes a supplement for the Twelfth of July celebrations. In addition to the ''News Letter'' coverage of the
Renewable Heat Incentive scandal The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal (RHI scandal), also referred to as RHIgate and the Cash for Ash scandal, is a political scandal in Northern Ireland that centres on a failed renewable energy (wood pellet burning) incentive scheme that has b ...
from 2016 to the present, a book entitled ''Burned: The Inside Story of the 'Cash-for-Ash' Scandal and Northern Ireland's Secretive New Elite'', by its (now former) political correspondent Sam McBride (a frequent media commentator on Northern Irish affairs), was published in 2019 by Merrion.


Print circulation


References


External links


''News Letter'' online
{{DEFAULTSORT:News Letter, The 1737 establishments in Ireland Publications established in 1737 Mass media in Belfast Newspapers published in Northern Ireland Johnston Publishing (NI) Newspapers published by Johnston Press