''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The Guardian Weekly ''The Guardian Weekly'' is an international English-language news magazine based in London, UK. It is one of the world's oldest international news publications and has readers in more than 170 countries. Editorial content is drawn from its sis ...

'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.

History

Origins

The first issue, published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first

Sunday newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

. Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

Francis Burdett Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet (25 January 1770 – 23 January 1844) was a British politician and Member of Parliament who gained notoriety as a proponent (in advance of the Chartists) of universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts, vo ...

and

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

19th century

In 1807, the brothers decided to relinquish editorial control, naming

Lewis Doxat Lewis Doxat (1778, Calcutta, India - 4 March 1871, London, England) was an English newspaper editor. Biography Born in India, Doxat came to England as a young boy. He settled in London, where he found work with the ''Morning Chronicle''. In 1 ...

as the new editor. Seven years later, the brothers sold ''The Observer'' to

William Innell Clement William Innell Clement (15 January 1780 – 24 January 1852) was an English newspaper proprietor. Biography Clement was born in the parish of St Clement Danes and baptised at St Anne's Church, Soho. Starting as a newsagent at a young age, he soo ...

, a newspaper proprietor who owned a number of publications. The paper continued to receive government subsidies during this period; in 1819, of the approximately 23,000 copies of the paper distributed weekly, approximately 10,000 were given away as "specimen copies", distributed by postmen who were paid to deliver them to "lawyers, doctors, and gentlemen of the town." Clement maintained ownership of ''The Observer'' until his death in 1852. After Doxat retired in 1857, Clement's heirs sold the paper to Joseph Snowe, who also took over the editor's chair. In 1870, wealthy businessman

Julius Beer Julius Beer (1836–1880) was a German-born English businessman, banker and newspaper baron. He owned ''The Observer'' from 1870 to 1880. Biography Early life Julius Beer was born in 1836 in Frankfurt, Germany. Career Beer made his fortun ...

bought the paper and appointed

Edward Dicey Edward James Stephen Dicey, CB (15 May 18327 July 1911) was an English writer, journalist, and editor. Life He was born on 15 May 1832 at Claybrook, near Lutterworth, Leicestershire. He was the second son of Thomas Edward Dicey, of an old Lei ...

as editor, whose efforts succeeded in reviving circulation. Though Beer's son Frederick became the owner upon Julius's death in 1880, he had little interest in the newspaper and was content to leave Dicey as editor until 1889.

Henry Duff Traill Henry Duff Traill (14 August 1842 – 21 February 1900) was a British author and journalist. Life Born at Blackheath, he belonged to an old Caithness family, the Traills of Rattar, and his father, James Traill, was the stipendiary magistrate of ...

took over the editorship after Dicey's departure, only to be replaced in 1891 by Frederick's wife,

Rachel Beer Rachel Beer (''née'' Sassoon; 7 April 1858 – 29 April 1927) was an Indian-born British newspaper editor. She was editor-in-chief of ''The Observer'' and ''The Sunday Times''. Early life Rachel Sassoon was born in Bombay to Sassoon David Sass ...

, of the

Sassoon family The Sassoon family, known as "Rothschilds of the East" due to the immense wealth they accumulated in finance and trade, are a family of Baghdadi Jewish descent. Originally based in Baghdad, Iraq, they later moved to Bombay, India, and then emig ...

. She remained as editor for thirteen years, combining it in 1893 with the editorship of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', a newspaper that she had also bought.

20th century

Upon Frederick's death in 1903, the paper was purchased by the newspaper magnate

Lord Northcliffe Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...

. Northcliffe sold the paper to

William Waldorf Astor William Waldorf "Willy" Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (31 March 1848 – 18 October 1919) was an American-British attorney, politician, businessman (hotels and newspapers), and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of ...

in 1911, who transferred ownership to his son

Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, DL (19 May 1879 – 30 September 1952) was an American-born English politician and newspaper proprietor. He was a member of the Astor family. He was active in minor political roles. He was devoted to charitab ...

four years later. Garvin's departed as editor in 1942. Ownership passed to Waldorf's sons in 1948, with David taking over as editor. He remained in the position for 27 years, during which time he turned it into a trust-owned newspaper employing, among others,

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

, Paul Jennings and

C. A. Lejeune Caroline Alice Lejeune (27 March 1897 – 31 March 1973) was a British writer, best known for serving as the film critic for ''The Observer'' from 1928 to 1960. She was among the earliest newspaper film critics in Britain, and one of the first B ...

. In 1977, the Astors sold the ailing newspaper to US oil giant

Atlantic Richfield ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States and ...

(now called ARCO) who sold it to

Lonrho plc Lonrho is a London-based conglomerate that was established in 1998 as Lonrho Africa plc. It is engaged in multiple business sectors in Africa, mainly agribusiness, infrastructure, transport, hospitality and support services. History Lonrho ...

in 1981. It became part of the

Guardian Media Group Guardian Media Group plc (GMG) is a British-based mass media company owning various media operations including ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer''. The group is wholly owned by the Scott Trust Limited, which exists to secure the financial and e ...

in June 1993, after a rival bid to acquire it by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' was rejected.Michael Leapman
"New editor chosen for 'Observer': 'Guardian' deputy to succeed Trelford"
''The Independent'', 14 May 1993, accessed 22 January 2018.

Farzad Bazoft Farzad Bazoft ( fa, فرزاد بازفت; 22 May 1958 – 15 March 1990) was an Iranian journalist who settled in the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s. He worked as a freelance reporter for ''The Observer''. He was arrested by Iraqi authoritie ...

, a journalist for ''The Observer'', was executed in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in 1990 on charges of spying. In 2003, ''The Observer'' interviewed the Iraqi colonel who had arrested and interrogated Bazoft and who was convinced that Bazoft was not a spy.

Ed Vulliamy Edward Sebastian Vulliamy (born 1 August 1954) is a British journalist and writer. Early life and education Vulliamy was born and raised in Notting Hill, London. His mother was the children's author and illustrator Shirley Hughes, his father ...

"Writer hanged by Iraq 'no spy'"
''The Guardian'', 18 May 2003, accessed 4 April 2007.

21st century

On 27 February 2005, ''The Observer'' BlogObserver blog
accessed 27 February 2007. was launched. In addition to the weekly ''Observer Magazine''

colour supplement A colour supplement or colour magazine is a magazine with full-colour printing, typically printed on glossy paper, that is packaged with a newspaper. Some colour supplements are Sunday magazines, but may also be included with a daily newspaper. ...

which is still present every Sunday, for several years each issue of ''The Observer'' came with a different free monthly magazine. These magazines had the titles ''Observer Sport Monthly'', ''Observer Music Monthly'', ''Observer Woman'' and ''Observer Food Monthly''. Content from ''The Observer'' is included in ''

'' for an international readership. ''The Observer'' followed its daily partner ''

'' and converted to

Berliner Berliner is most often used to designate a citizen of Berlin, Germany Berliner may also refer to: People * Berliner (surname) Places * Berliner Lake, a lake in Minnesota, United States * Berliner Philharmonie, concert hall in Berlin, Germany ...

format on Sunday 8 January 2006.Claire Cozens
"Observer announces relaunch date"
''The Observer'', 19 December 2005; accessed 27 February 2007.The archive – summary of holdings
accessed 27 February 2007. ''The Observer'' was awarded the ''National Newspaper of the Year'' at the

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named '' ...

2007. Editor

Roger Alton Roger Alton (born 20 December 1947 in Oxford) is an English journalist. He was formerly editor of ''The Independent'' and ''The Observer'', and executive editor of ''The Times''. Early life and education He was educated at Clifton College and ...

stepped down at the end of 2007, and was replaced by his deputy, John Mulholland. In early 2010, the paper was restyled. An article on the paper's website previewing the new version stated that "The News section, which will incorporate Business and personal finance, will be home to a new section, Seven Days, offering a complete round-up of the previous week's main news from Britain and around the world, and will also focus on more analysis and comment." In July 2021,

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

announced that ''The Guardian'' continued to be the UK's most widely used newspaper website and app for news and had increased its audience share by 1% over the preceding year. 23% of consumers, who used websites or apps for news, used ''The Guardian'', which also hosts ''The Observer'' online content. This compared to 22% for the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' website.

Supplements and features

After the paper was rejuvenated in early 2010, the main paper came with only a small number of supplements – ''Sport'', ''The Observer Magazine'', ''The New Review'' and ''The New York Times International Weekly'', an 8-page supplement of articles selected from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that has been distributed with the paper since 2007. Every four weeks the paper includes ''The Observer Food Monthly'' magazine, and in September 2013 it launched ''Observer Tech Monthly'', a science and technology section which won the Grand Prix at the 2014 Newspaper Awards. Previously, the main paper had come with a larger range of supplements including ''Sport'', ''Business & Media'', ''Review'', ''Escape'' (a travel supplement), ''The Observer Magazine'' and various special interest monthlies, such as ''The Observer Food Monthly'', ''Observer Women monthly'' which was launched in 2006, ''Observer Sport Monthly'' and ''The Observer Film Magazine''.

The Newsroom

''The Observer'' and its sister newspaper ''The Guardian'' operate a visitor centre in London called The Newsroom. It contains their archives, including bound copies of old editions, a photographic library and other items such as diaries, letters and notebooks. This material may be consulted by members of the public. The Newsroom also mounts temporary exhibitions and runs an educational programme for schools. In November 2007, ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian'' made their archives available over the Internet. The current extent of the archives available are 1791 to 2000 for ''The Observer'' and 1821 to 2000 for ''The Guardian''. These archives will eventually go up to 2003. In 2023 copies from 2004 onwards and gaps will be filled to latest edition.

Bans

The paper was banned in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in February 2008 after reprinting

cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

allegedly insulting

Muhammed Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

Editors

* W. S. Bourne & W. H. Bourne (1791–1807) *

(1807–1857) * Joseph Snowe (1857–1870) *

(1870–1889) *

(1889–1891) *

(1891–1904) *

Austin Harrison Austin Frederic Harrison (1873–1928) was a British journalist and editor, best known for his editorship of ''The English Review'' from 1909 until 1923. Biography Early life and career Born in London, Harrison was the son of the author and jur ...

(1904–1908) *

James Louis Garvin James Louis Garvin CH (12 April 1868 – 23 January 1947) was a British journalist, editor, and author. In 1908, Garvin agreed to take over the editorship of the Sunday newspaper ''The Observer'', revolutionising Sunday journalism and restori ...

(1908–1942) *

Ivor Brown Ivor John Carnegie Brown CBE (25 April 1891 – 22 April 1974) was a British journalist and man of letters. Biography Born in Penang, Malaya, Brown was the younger of two sons of Dr. William Carnegie Brown, a specialist in tropical diseases, ...

(1942–1948) *

David Astor Francis David Langhorne Astor, CH (5 March 1912 – 7 December 2001) was an English newspaper publisher, editor of ''The Observer'' at the height of its circulation and influence, and member of the Astor family, "the landlords of New York". Ea ...

(1948–1975) *

Donald Trelford Donald Trelford (born 9 November 1937) is a British journalist and academic, who was editor of ''The Observer'' newspaper from 1975 to 1993. He was also a director of ''The Observer'' from 1975 to 1993 and chief executive from 1992 to 1993. Ea ...

(1975–1993) *

Jonathan Fenby Jonathan Fenby CBE (born 11 November 1942) is a British analyst, author, historian and journalist. In terms of his business career, he has served as the Chairperson of the China Team at the research service TSLombard. He was previously a foundi ...

(1993–1995) *

Andrew Jaspan Andrew Jaspan AM (born 20 April 1952) is a British-Australian journalist and Founding Director and Editor-in-Chief of 360info. He is the Founder of ''The Conversation''. He was previously editor-in-chief of Melbourne's''The Age'', editor of ...

(1995–1996) *

Will Hutton William Nicolas Hutton (born 21 May 1950) is a British journalist. As of 2022, he writes a regular column for ''The Observer'', co-chairs the Purposeful Company, and is the president-designate of the Academy of Social Sciences. He is the chair ...

(1996–1998) *

(1998–2007) * John Mulholland (2008–2018) * Paul Webster (2018–present)

Photographers

Jane Bown Jane Hope Bown CBE (13 March 1925 – 21 December 2014) was an English photographer who worked for ''The Observer'' newspaper from 1949. Her portraits, primarily photographed in black and white and using available light, received widespread cri ...

(resident from 1949 until her death in 2014) *

Stuart Heydinger Stuart Heydinger (5 May 1927 – 6 October 2019) was a British photojournalist and portrait photographer. He was chief photographer at ''The Observer'' from 1960 to 1966. Life and work Heydinger was born in Kingston upon Thames, south west Londo ...

(1960–1966) *

Antonio Olmos Antonio Zazueta Olmos (born 1963) is a Mexican photojournalist, editorial and portrait photographer, based in London. Olmos' first book is ''The Landscape of Murder'' (2013), photographs of the sites of murders within London's M25 orbital moto ...

(freelance) *

Harry Borden Harry Borden (born 1965) is a British portrait photographer based in London. His subjects have included celebrities and politicians. Examples of Borden's work are held in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, LondonMichael Peto Michael Peto (also known as Mihály Petö) (1908 – 25 December 1970) was an internationally recognized Hungarian-British photojournalist of the twentieth century. Emigrating to London before World War II through business, in the postwar years h ...

(freelance) * Colin Jones (freelance) *

Dean Chalkley Dean Chalkley (born 2 April 1968) is a British photographer from Southend-on-Sea. Early life Dean Chakley's first years were spent on a farm in Essex where his parents were labourers. At the age of seven the family moved to Southend-on-Sea wh ...

(freelance) *

Don McCullin Sir Donald McCullin (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the underside of society, and hi ...

(freelance) *

Philip Jones Griffiths Philip Jones Griffiths (18 February 1936 – 19 March 2008) was a Welsh people, Welsh photojournalist known for his coverage of the Vietnam War. Biography Jones Griffiths was born in Rhuddlan in Denbighshire, North Wales, to Joseph Griffiths ...

(freelance) *

Giles Duley Giles Duley (born 15 September 1971 in Wimbledon, London) is an English portrait and documentary photographer, writer, CEO and presenter. Duley also cooks, and writes about food and food politics, under the moniker The One Armed Chef. He is best ...

(freelance)

Awards

''The Observer'' was named the

''National Newspaper of the Year'' for 2006.''

Press Gazette ''Press Gazette'', formerly known as ''UK Press Gazette'' (UKPG), is a British media trade magazine dedicated to journalism and the press. First published in 1965, it had a circulation of about 2,500, before becoming online-only in 2013. Publis ...

''
Roll of Honour
accessed 24 July 2011 Its supplements have three times won "Regular Supplement of the Year" (''Sport Monthly'', 2001; ''Food Monthly'', 2006, 2012). ''Observer'' journalists have won a range of British Press Awards, including * "Interviewer of the Year" (

Lynn Barber Lynn Barber (born 22 May 1944) is a British journalist who has worked for many publications, including ''The Sunday Times''. Early life Barber attended Lady Eleanor Holles School in south-west London. While she was studying for her A-Levels she ...

, 2001;

Sean O'Hagan Sean O'Hagan (born 1959) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and arranger who leads the avant-pop band the High Llamas, which he founded in 1992. He is also known for being one half of the songwriting duo (with Cathal Coughlan) in Microdisney and f ...

, 2002;

Rachel Cooke Rachel Cooke (born 1969) is a British journalist and writer. Early life Cooke was born in Sheffield, and is the daughter of a university lecturer. She went to school in Jaffa, Israel, until she was 11, before returning to Sheffield, and atten ...

, 2005; Chrissy Iley (freelance for ''Observer'' and ''Sunday Times'' magazine), 2007) * "Critic of the Year" (

Jay Rayner Jason Matthew Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is an English journalist and food critic. Early life Jason Matthew Rayner was born on 14 September 1966. He is the younger son of Desmond Rayner and journalist Claire Rayner. His family is Jewish. He ...

, 2005;

Philip French Philip Neville French Order of the British Empire, OBE (28 August 1933 – 27 October 2015) was an English film critic and radio producer. French began his career in journalism in the late 1950s, before eventually becoming a BBC Radio prod ...

, 2008;

Rowan Moore Rowan Moore is an architecture critic. Rowan William Gillachrist Moore was born on 22 March 1961. His brother is the journalist, newspaper editor and Margaret Thatcher's official biographer Charles Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham, and his gr ...

, 2013) * "Food & Drink Writer of the Year" (John Carlin, 2003) * "Travel Writer of the Year" (Tim Moore, 2004)

References

Bibliography

* Richard Cockett (1990), ''David Astor and The Observer'',

André Deutsch André Deutsch (15 November 1917 – 11 April 2000) was a Hungarian-born British publisher who founded an eponymous publishing company in 1951. Biography Deutsch was born on 15 November 1917 in Budapest, Hungary, the son of a Jewish dentis ...

, London. 294 pp. with index. . Has endpapers that are facsimiles of ''The Observer'', with other black-and-white photographic plates of personnel linked to the newspaper. *

(2015), ''A Lifetime of Looking'',

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...

Ltd.. Contains the most iconic photos she took for ''The Observer'' from 1949 to the last photo she took a few months before her death in December 2014. Photos include

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

and

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

External links

*
''DigitalArchive'' paid-for service
* History of Guardian Media Group 1990–1999, Guardian Media Group website; as of 2 March 2003
GMGplc.co.uk
(link requires

Flash Player Adobe Flash Player (known in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome as Shockwave Flash) is computer software for viewing multimedia contents, executing rich Internet applications, and streaming audio and video content created on the ...

to view timeline)
''Observer'' timeline

History of the ''Observer''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Observer 1791 establishments in England Centre-left newspapers Guardian Media Group Liberal media in the United Kingdom National newspapers published in the United Kingdom Publications established in 1791 Republicanism in the United Kingdom Sunday newspapers published in the United Kingdom

History

Origins

19th century

20th century

21st century

Supplements and features

The Newsroom

Bans

Editors

Photographers

Awards

See also

References

Bibliography

External links