TheLondon Daily News was a short-lived Londonnewspaper owned byRobert Maxwell. It was published from 24 February to 23 July 1987.[1] it was designed to challenge the local dominance of theEvening Standard in the London market. Despite significant investment and ambitious plans, the paper struggled to gain a substantial readership and was ultimately forced to shut down after only five months in circulation.
Romanized name | London Daily News |
|---|---|
| Type of business | Newspaper /Media Company |
Type of site | Newspaper |
| Available in | 1 languagesEnglish is the only language |
List of languages | |
| Founded | 24 February 1987 |
| Dissolved | 23 July 1987 |
| Headquarters | London,UK,, |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of locations | Main headquarters inLondon |
| Area served | United Kingdom,primarily London |
| Owner | Robert Maxwell |
| Created by | Robert Maxwell |
| Founder(s) | Robert Maxwell |
| Chairman | Robert Maxwell |
| CEO | Robert Maxwell |
| Industry | Media /Publishing |
| Products | Newspaper,News Articles,Cartoons (including Alex) |
| Services | Journalism,Print Publication |
| Total assets | Estimated at $40 million investment |
| Parent | Maxwell Communications Corporation (Robert Maxwell’s company) |
History
editTheLondon Daily News was intended to be a "24-hour" paper challenging the local dominance of theEvening Standard. "For the city that never sleeps, the paper that never stops", ran the promotional slogan.[2] TheStandard’s owners,Associated Newspapers, responded by reviving theEvening News at a lower price to squeeze theLondon Daily News out of the market. A price war ensued finishing with theLondon Daily News selling at 10p and theEvening News at 5p.
Maxwell was dismissive when he heard about the cut-priceEvening News. He told the BBC: "TheEvening Standard and Lord Rothermere are so worried about their monopoly – which theLondon Daily News is finally breaking – and so scared about the huge demand for our paper, that they've brought out a cheapoEvening News, which is really a joke." After theLondon Daily News collapsed, TheEvening Standard's publishers, Associated Newspapers, continued theEvening News for some months as a separate brand, aiming for a more downmarket readership than theEvening Standard before re-absorbing it into its sister publication and former rival. TheLondon Daily News was the first home of theAlex cartoon, later published byThe Independent and theDaily Telegraph.[3]
Maxwell admitted defeat on 25 July 1987 an hour after paying undisclosed damages to Associated Newspapers for accusing it of lying about theEvening Standard's circulation figures. Starting theLondon Daily News, which published four editions a day, had cost him $40 million (then about £24.96 million), Reuters estimated.[4] His paper was “selling less than 100,000 copies, when minimum sales targets were 200,000 by this time", Reuters reported Maxwell as commenting.[4]
Exclusives
editThe paper exposed a scandal relating towar crimes in Sri Lanka when it revealed and confirmed the presence of British mercenaries of the secret KMS unit working with Sri Lankan troops, and the subsequent termination of this following the discovery of atrocities committed against the Tamil population. The KMS mercenaries walked out after complaining that the Sri Lankan Special Task Force "was running out of control and was indiscriminately killing and torturing Tamil civilians". Human Rights LawyerKaren Parker cited the news article in one of her NGO interventions criticising the Government of Sri Lanka at theUnited Nations Human Rights Commission.[5]
References
edit- ^"Concise History of the British Newspaper in the Twentieth Century", British Library Help for Researchers
- ^Duncan CampbellThe London legacy of Cap'n Bob,The Guardian, 28 August 2006. Accessed: 14 September 2007
- ^"Murdoch versus Evening Standard", BBC News, 4 September 2006. Accessed: 14 September 2007.
- ^ab"Maxwell Closes London Paper",New York Times (Reuters), 25 July 1987. Accessed: 13 April 2014.
- ^London Daily News. 4 March 1987