The Daily Telegraph, known online and elsewhere asThe Telegraph, is a British dailybroadsheet conservative newspaper published in London byTelegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded byArthur B. Sleigh in 1855 asThe Daily Telegraph and Courier.[7]The Telegraph is considered anewspaper of record in the UK.[8][9] The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", was included in its emblem which was used for over a century starting in 1858.[1]
In 2013The Daily Telegraph andThe Sunday Telegraph, which started in 1961, were merged, although the latter retains its own editor.[10] Both papers are politicallyconservative and support theConservative Party,[8] although theDaily Telegraph was moderatelyliberal before the late 1870s.[11]
In May 2025 an investment management firm,RedBird Capital Partners, announced plans to acquire the newspaper's publisher for £500 million (about US$674 million).[16]
TheDaily Telegraph and Courier was founded by ColonelArthur B. Sleigh in June 1855 to air a personal grievance against the futurecommander-in-chief of theBritish Army,Prince George, Duke of Cambridge.[8][17]Joseph Moses Levy, the owner ofThe Sunday Times, agreed to print the newspaper, and the first edition was published on 29 June 1855. The paper cost 2d and was four pages long.[8] Nevertheless, the first edition stressed the quality and independence of its articles and journalists: "We shall be guided by a high tone of independent action."[1] As the paper was not a success, Sleigh was unable to pay Levy the printing bill.[17]
Levy took over the newspaper, his aim being to produce a cheaper newspaper than his main competitors in London, theDaily News andThe Morning Post, to expand the size of the overall market.[citation needed] Levy appointed his son,Edward Levy-Lawson, Lord Burnham, andThornton Leigh Hunt to edit the newspaper. Lord Burnham relaunched the paper asThe Daily Telegraph, with the slogan "the largest, best, and cheapest newspaper in the world".[18] Hunt laid out the newspaper's principles in a memorandum sent to Levy: "We should report all striking events in science, so told that the intelligent public can understand what has happened and can see its bearing on our daily life and our future. The same principle should apply to all other events—to fashion, to new inventions, to new methods of conducting business".[19]
In 1876,Jules Verne published his novelMichael Strogoff, whose plot takes place during a fictional uprising and war inSiberia. Verne included among the book's characters a war correspondent ofThe Daily Telegraph, named Harry Blount—who is depicted as an exceptionally dedicated, resourceful and brave journalist, taking great personal risks to follow closely the ongoing war and bring accurate news of it toThe Telegraph's readership, ahead of competing papers.[20]
In 1937, the newspaper absorbedThe Morning Post, which traditionally espoused a conservative position and sold predominantly amongst the retired officer class. Originally William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, boughtThe Morning Post with the intention of publishing it alongsideThe Daily Telegraph, but poor sales of the former led him to merge the two. For some years, the paper was retitledThe Daily Telegraph and Morning Post before it reverted to justThe Daily Telegraph.
In November 1940, Fleet Street, with its close proximity to the river and docklands, was subjected to almost daily bombing raids by the Luftwaffe andThe Telegraph started printing in Manchester at Kemsley House (nowThe Printworks entertainment venue), which was run by Camrose's brother Kemsley. Manchester quite often printed the entire run ofThe Telegraph when its Fleet Street offices were under threat. The name Kemsley House was changed to Thomson House in 1959. In 1986, printing of Northern editions of theDaily andSunday Telegraph moved to Trafford Park and in 2008 to Newsprinters at Knowsley, Liverpool.
During theSecond World War,The Daily Telegraph covertly helped in the recruitment of code-breakers forBletchley Park. The ability to solveThe Telegraph'scrossword in under 12 minutes was considered to be a recruitment test. The newspaper was asked to organise a crossword competition, after which each of the successful participants was contacted and asked if they would be prepared to undertake "a particular type of work as a contribution to the war effort". The competition itself was won byF. H. W. Hawes ofDagenham who finished the crossword in less than eight minutes.[25]
Both the Camrose (Berry) and Burnham (Levy-Lawson) families remained involved in management untilConrad Black took control in 1986. On the death of his father in 1954,Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose assumed the chairmanship of theDaily Telegraph with his brotherMichael Berry, Baron Hartwell as his editor-in-chief. During this period, the company saw the launch of sister paperThe Sunday Telegraph in 1960.[26]
On 18 January 2004, Black was dismissed aschairman of theHollinger International board over allegations of financial wrongdoing. Black was also sued by the company. Later that day, it was reported that theBarclay brothers had agreed to purchase Black's 78% interest inHollinger Inc. for£245m, giving them a controlling interest in the company, and to buy out the minority shareholders later. However, a lawsuit was filed by the Hollinger International board to try to block Black from selling hisshares in Hollinger Inc. until an investigation into his dealings was completed. Black filed a countersuit but, eventually, United States judgeLeo Strine sided with the Hollinger International board and blocked Black from selling his Hollinger Inc. shares to the twins.
On 7 March 2004, the twins announced that they were launching another bid, this time just forThe Daily Telegraph and its Sunday sister paper rather than all of Hollinger Inc. The then owner of theDaily Express,Richard Desmond, was also interested in purchasing the paper, selling his interest in several pornographic magazines to finance the initiative. Desmond withdrew in March 2004, when the price climbed above £600m,[27] as didDaily Mail and General Trust plc a few months later on 17 June.[28]
In November 2004,The Telegraph celebrated the tenth anniversary of its website,Electronic Telegraph, now renamedwww.telegraph.co.uk. TheElectronic Telegraph launched in 1995 with The Daily Telegraph Guide to the Internet[citation needed] by writer Sue Schofield for an annual charge of £180.00. On 8 May 2006, the first stage of a major redesign of the website took place, with a wider page layout and greater prominence for audio, video and journalist blogs.
On 10 October 2005,The Daily Telegraph relaunched to incorporate a tabloid sports section and a new standalone business section.The Daily Mail's star columnist and political analystSimon Heffer left that paper in October 2005 to rejoinThe Daily Telegraph, where he has become associate editor. Heffer has written two columns a week for the paper since late October 2005 and is a regular contributor to the news podcast. In November 2005, the first regular podcast service by a newspaper in the UK was launched.[29] Just before Christmas 2005, it was announced thatThe Telegraph titles would be moving from Canada Place inCanary Wharf, to new offices at Victoria Plaza at 111 Buckingham Palace Road nearVictoria Station in central London.[30] The new office features a "hub and spoke" layout for the newsroom to produce content for print and online editions.
In October 2006, with its relocation to Victoria, the company was renamed the Telegraph Media Group, repositioning itself as a multimedia company. On 2 September 2008, theDaily Telegraph was printed with colour on each page for the first time when it leftWestferry for Newsprinters atBroxbourne, Hertfordshire, another arm of theMurdoch company.[31] The paper is also printed inLiverpool andGlasgow by Newsprinters. In May 2009, the daily and Sunday editions publisheddetails of MPs' expenses. This led to a number of high-profile resignations from both the ruling Labour administration and the Conservative opposition.
In June 2014,The Telegraph was criticised byPrivate Eye for its policy of replacing experienced journalists and news managers with less-experienced staff andsearch engine optimisers.[32]
In July 2023, it was announced that Lloyds Banking Group had appointed Mike McTighe as chairman of Press Acquisitions Limited and May Corporation Limited in order to spearhead the sale ofThe Telegraph andThe Spectator.[36]
Accusation of news coverage influence by advertisers
In July 2014, theDaily Telegraph was criticised for carrying links on its website to pro-Kremlin articles supplied by a Russian state-funded publication that downplayed any Russian involvement in the downing of the passenger jetMalaysia Airlines Flight 17.[37] These had featured on its website as part of a commercial deal, but were later removed.[38]
In February 2015, the chief political commentator of theDaily Telegraph,Peter Oborne, resigned. Oborne accused the paper of a "form of fraud on its readers"[40] for its coverage of the bankHSBC in relation to a Swiss tax-dodging scandal that was widely covered by other news media. He alleged that editorial decisions about news content had been heavily influenced by the advertising arm of the newspaper because of commercial interests.[41]Jay Rosen atNew York University stated that Oborne's resignation statement was "one of the most important things a journalist has written about journalism lately".[41]
Oborne cited other instances of advertising strategy influencing the content of articles, linking the refusal to take an editorial stance on the repression of democratic demonstrations in Hong Kong to theTelegraph's support from China. Additionally, he said that favourable reviews of theCunard cruise linerQueen Mary II appeared in theTelegraph, noting: "On 10 May last yearThe Telegraph ran a long feature on Cunard's Queen Mary II liner on the news review page. This episode looked to many like a plug for an advertiser on a page normally dedicated to serious news analysis. I again checked and certainlyTelegraph competitors did not view Cunard's liner as a major news story. Cunard is an importantTelegraph advertiser."[40]
In response, theTelegraph called Oborne's statement an "astonishing and unfounded attack, full of inaccuracy and innuendo".[41] Later that month,Telegraph editor Chris Evans invited journalists at the newspaper to contribute their thoughts on the issue.[42]Press Gazette reported later in 2015 that Oborne had joined theDaily Mail tabloid newspaper andThe Telegraph had "issued new guidelines over the way editorial and commercial staff work together".[43]
In January 2017, the Telegraph Media Group had a higher number of upheld complaints than any other UK newspaper by its regulatorIPSO.[44] Most of these findings pertained to inaccuracy, as with other UK newspapers.[45]
In October 2017, a number of major western news organisations whose coverage had irked Beijing were excluded fromXi Jinping's speech event launching a new politburo. However, theDaily Telegraph had been granted an invitation to the event.[46]
In April 2019,Business Insider reportedThe Telegraph had partnered withFacebook to publish articles "downplaying 'technofears' and praising the company".[47]
Editors for both theDaily Telegraph and theSunday Telegraph have been criticised byGuardian columnistOwen Jones for publishing and authoring articles which espouseCultural Marxism, anantisemitic conspiracy theory.[49] In 2018,Allister Heath, the editor of theSunday Telegraph wrote that "Cultural Marxism is running rampant."[50] Assistant comment editor of theDaily TelegraphSherelle Jacobs also used the term in 2019.[51]The Daily Telegraph also published an anonymous civil servant who stated: "There is a strong presence of Anglophobia, combined with cultural Marxism that runs through the civil service."[52]
In January 2019, the paper published an article written byCamilla Tominey titled "Police called in after Scout group run from mosque is linked to Islamic extremist and Holocaust denier"[53] in which it was reported that the police were investigating Ahammed Hussain, the Leader of the Scout Group at the Lewisham Islamic Centre, because he had links to extremist Muslim groups that promoted terrorism and antisemitism.
In January 2020, the paper issued an official apology and accepted that the article contained many falsehoods, and that Hussain had never supported or promoted terrorism, or been antisemitic. The paper paid Hussain damages and costs.[54] In a letter sent to Hussain's lawyers accompanying the text of their published apology, the newspaper's lawyers wrote: "The article was published by our client following receipt of information in good faith from the Scout Association and theHenry Jackson Society; nevertheless our client now accepts that the article (using that expression to refer to both print and online versions) is defamatory of your client and will apologise to him for publishing it."[55]
In 2016, theHong Kong Free Press reported thatThe Daily Telegraph was receiving £750,000 annually to carry a supplement called 'China Watch' as part of a commercial deal with Chinese state-run newspaperChina Daily.[56]The Guardian reported in 2018 that the China Watch supplement was being carried byThe Telegraph along with othernewspapers of record such asThe New York Times,The Wall Street Journal andLe Figaro.[57]The Telegraph published the supplement once a month in print, and published it online at least until March 2020.[58]
In April 2020,The Telegraph removed China Watch from its website, along with another advertisement feature section by Chinese state-run media outletPeople's Daily Online. The paper had run many pieces critical of China since the start of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[59][60]
In January 2021, the British press regulator, theIndependent Press Standards Organisation, orderedThe Daily Telegraph to publish a correction to two "significantly misleading" claims in a comment article published byToby Young. The July 2020 article "When we have herd immunity Boris will face a reckoning on this pointless and damaging lockdown," which spreadCOVID-19 misinformation that the common cold provided "natural immunity" toCOVID-19 and that London was "probably approaching herd immunity".[61][62] The regulator said that a correction was appropriate rather than a more serious response due to the level of scientific uncertainty at the time the comment was published.[62] At the time of the ruling,The Telegraph had removed the comment article but had not issued a correction.[62]
The Telegraph has published multiple columns and news articles which promotepseudoscientific views on climate change, and misleadingly cast the subject of climate change as a subject of active scientific debate when there is ascientific consensus on climate change.[69] It has published columns about the "conspiracy behind the Anthropogenic Global Warming myth",[66] described climate scientists as "white-coated prima donnas and narcissists,"[66][67] and claimed that "global warming causes about as much damage as benefits."[68] In 2015, aTelegraph news article incorrectly claimed that scientists predicted a mini-ice age by 2030.[67] Climate change denying journalistJames Delingpole was first to use "Climategate" on hisTelegraph blog for a manufactured controversy where emails were leaked from climate scientists ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit and misleadingly presented to give the appearance that the climate scientists were engaged in fraud.[70]
In 2014,The Telegraph was one of several media titles to give evidence to theHouse of CommonsSelect Committee 'Communicating climate science'. The paper toldMPs they believe climate change is happening and humans play a role in it. Editors told the committee, "we believe that the climate is changing, that the reason for that change includes human activity, but that human ingenuity and adaptability should not be ignored in favour of economically damaging prescriptions."[71]
In November 2023, the journalist and climate activist groupDeSmog published its judgements for coverage of environmental topics in 171 ofThe Telegraph's opinion pieces from April to October 2023. DeSmog stated that of these 171 pieces, 85 per cent were categorised as "anti-green", defined as "attacking climate policy, questioning climate science and ridiculing environmental groups."[72][73]
The Daily Telegraph, in particular its columnist and former editorCharles Moore, were staunch supporters ofOwen Paterson, a former MP and minister who resigned after it was found that he had breached advocacy rules to lobby ministers for fees. A plan to overhaul theCommons standard and spare Paterson from being suspended and a possible recall petition that follows was leaked to the newspaper and it was "approvingly" splashed across the paper's front page.[according to whom?] Boris Johnson flew back from theCOP 26 summit in Glasgow to attend aTelegraph journalists' reunion at theGarrick and left the club with Moore the same evening.[74][additional citation(s) needed]
In June 2023,The Guardian and other newspapers reported that, following a breakdown in discussions relating to a financial dispute,Lloyds Bank was planning to take control of the companies owning theTelegraph titles and theSpectator and sell them off.[75][76] Representatives of the Barclay family have described the reports as "irresponsible".[77] By 20 October, a sale of the publications had been initiated after bankers seized control. Lloyds appointed receivers and started shopping the brands to bidders.[78]
By November, it was revealed that the bid had been agreed upon by RedBird IMI, a joint venture betweenRedBird Capital Partners and International Media Investments, a firm based in theUnited Arab Emirates and owned bySheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The bid would see the firm take overThe Telegraph, while allowing the Barclay family to repay a debt of £1.2 billion to Lloyds Bank. Conservative MPs raised national security concerns, and pushed the government to investigate the bid, as the United Arab Emirates had a poor reputation forfreedom of speech.[79][80][81] Culture secretaryLucy Frazer issued a public interest intervention notice on 30 November,[82] preventing the group from taking over without further scrutiny from the media regulatorOfcom over potential breaches of media standards.[83][84] Conservative MPs also called on Deputy Prime MinisterOliver Dowden to use theNational Security and Investment Act 2021 to investigate the Emirati-backed bid.[85]
ChairmanAndrew Neil threatened to quit if the sale was approved, saying: "You cannot have a major mainstream newspaper group owned by an undemocratic government or dictatorship where no one has a vote."[86]Fraser Nelson, editor ofThe Spectator, which would be included in the sale, also opposed the move, saying, "the very reason why a foreign government would want to buy a sensitive asset is the very reason why a national government should be wary of selling them."[87]
In March 2024, the Lords voted in a new law, under which restrictions were imposed on foreign governments regarding the ownership of British newspapers and magazines, including only being allowed up to a 0.1 per cent stake.[88][89] In April 2024, the UK government effectively banned RedBird IMI from taking overThe Telegraph andThe Spectator by introducing new laws which prevented foreign governments from owning British newspapers. RedBird also confirmed it would withdraw its takeover plans, saying they were "no longer feasible".[90]
In April 2024, RedBird IMI confirmed to put upThe Telegraph for sale again and to begin open auction. However, the Abu Dhabi fund suggested that it seek to recoup the £600 million it spent acquiring the newspaper, or will otherwise retain some involvement.[91]The Telegraph was left in limbo, as the staff remained blocked from taking strategic decisions.[92] The owner ofThe New York Sun, Dovid Efune came up as a leading bidder, but struggled to take over the paper. TheColumbia Journalism Review dubbed it as "the newspaper auction from hell".[93][94]
On 17 January 2025, David Castelblanco, a partner at the Abu Dhabi fund RedBird, urgedThe Telegraph to make significant job cuts, including over 100 non-editorial roles. He also advised the executives to halt planned editorial investments, which included expansions of the US newsroom. The intervention was likely to raise concerns about foreign interference and fuels fears of foreign influence in the decision-making process ofThe Telegraph.[95] On 19 January,Sir Iain Duncan Smith stated that the UAE should not be allowed to acquire the British newspaper. He also accused the UK government of "foot-dragging" the process due to fear of upsetting the Emirates, and asked for an explanation about the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.[96]Sir Ed Davey also called for the Cultural SecretaryLisa Nandy to set a deadline forThe Telegraph's sale, and urged the ministers to ensure that the Abu Dhabi fund is "not improperly meddling in the meantime".[97]
In May 2025, Conservative MPs rebelled against their party's leadership to blockLisa Nandy's proposal allowing the UAE to acquire up to 15% ofThe Telegraph. This move came as RedBird Capital sought to lead a new consortium to acquire the newspaper.Lord Forsyth accused Lisa Nandy of surrendering to lobbying, raising concerns over foreign state influence, a potential risk to press freedom and independent journalism. Despite the objections, the deal proceeded, and on 23 May, RedBird IMI agreed to acquireThe Telegraph for £500 million ($673 million).[98][99]
It had a circulation of 270,000 in 1856, and 240,000 in 1863.[11] It had a circulation of 1,393,094 in 1968, and 1,358,875 in 1978.[100] It had a circulation of 1,439,000 in 1980, and 1,235,000 in 1984.[101] It had a circulation of 1,133,173 in 1988.[100] The paper had a circulation of 363,183 in December 2018, not including bulk sales.[102] It descended further until it withdrew from newspaper circulation audits in 2020.[103] The bulk of its readership has moved online; the Telegraph Media Group reported a subscription number of 1,035,710 for December 2023, composed of 117,586 for its print edition, 688,012 for its digital version and 230,112 for other subscriptions.[104]
The Daily Telegraph supported Whig,[105] and moderate liberal ideas, before the late 1870s.[11]The Daily Telegraph is politically conservative and has endorsed theConservative Party at every UK general election since 1945.[106][107] The personal links between the paper's editors and the leadership of theConservative Party, along with the paper's generallyright-wing stance and influence over Conservative activists, have led the paper commonly to be referred to, especially inPrivate Eye, as theTorygraph.[106]
In December 2015,The Daily Telegraph was fined £30,000 for "sending an unsolicited email to hundreds of thousands of its subscribers, urging them to vote for the Conservatives."[114] During the2019 Conservative Party leadership election,The Daily Telegraph endorsed their former columnistBoris Johnson.[115] In 2019, former columnistGraham Norton, who had left the paper in late 2018, said "about a year before I left, it took a turn" and criticised it for "toxic" political stances, namely for a piece defendingUS Supreme Court then-nomineeBrett Kavanaugh and for being "a mouthpiece for Boris Johnson" whose columns were allegedly published with "no fact-checking at all".[116]
In 2012, prior to the legalisation ofsame-sex marriage in the United Kingdom, Telegraph View published an editorial stating that it was a "pointless distraction" as "many [gay couples] already avail themselves of thecivil partnerships introduced byLabour".[117]The Telegraph wrote in another editorial that same year that it feared that changing "the law on gay marriage risks inflaming anti-homosexual bigotry".[118]
In 2015, following SirElton John's boycott ofDolce & Gabbana after its founders criticisedIVF and same-sex adoptions, former editorCharles Moore wrote an article in the paper saying a "gay rightssharia" was dictating what the LGBT+ community should believe. He suggested the public reaction to the comments was designed to "silence debate" and prevent support for "traditional views of parenthood". Moore also said "adult transgender mutilation" should not be celebrated.[119] Moore has previously expressed his views that civil partnerships achieved a "balance" for heterosexual and homosexual couples.[120] In 2013, he wrote: "Respectable people are truly terrified of being thought anti-homosexual. In a way, they are right to be, because attacking people for their personal preferences can be a nasty thing."[121]
In 2015, Michael Segalov wrote an article forThe Telegraph saying then-Prime MinisterTheresa May needed to be "serious about LGBT equality".[122] After theOrlando nightclub shooting in June 2016,The Telegraph published an article byStonewall CEO Ruth Hunt that said the attack on a gay nightclub "grew out of everydayhomophobia".[123] The same year,Telegraph Executive DirectorLord Black was awarded Peer of the Year at the 2016PinkNews Awards for his campaigning on LGBT rights.[124] The newspaper also featured an article written byMaria Munir about their experience coming out toPresident Barack Obama asnon-binary.[125] In 2017, Rachel Cunliffe wrote in the paper that "bathroom bills" in Texas – which were criticised as being transphobic – were "aKafkaesque state intrusion".[126]
PinkNews has criticisedThe Telegraph for its coverage of trans people, suggesting several articles and a billboard campaign were either misleading ortransphobic.[127][128][129] In 2017, the newspaper published an article byAllison Pearson titled: "Will our spineless politicians' love affair with LGBT ever end?", which argued that askingNHS patients their sexual orientation was unnecessary. In 2018, it published another article by Pearson headlined "The tyranny of the transgender minority has got to be stopped."[130][131] In 2025, two members of the campaign groupTrans Kids Deserve Better climbedThe Telegraph's office building to protest media coverage of trans issues, saying the paper had published 150 articles about trans people and had treated trans children as "just another scapegoat".[132][133]
The Daily Telegraph's sisterSunday paper was founded in 1961. The writer SirPeregrine Worsthorne is probably the best known journalist associated with the title (1961–1997),[according to whom?] eventually being editor for three years from 1986. In 1989, the Sunday title was briefly merged into a seven-day operation underMax Hastings's overall control. In 2005, the paper was revamped, with Stella being added to the more traditional television and radio section. It costs £2.20 and includes separate Money, Living, Sport and Business supplements.Circulation ofThe Sunday Telegraph in July 2010 was 505,214 (ABC).
Young Telegraph was a weekly section ofThe Daily Telegraph published as a 14-page supplement in the weekend edition of the newspaper.Young Telegraph featured a mixture of news, features, cartoon strips and product reviews aimed at 8–12-year-olds. It was edited by Damien Kelleher (1993–1997) and Kitty Melrose (1997–1999). Launched in 1990, the award-winning supplement also ran original serialised stories featuring popular brands such asYoung Indiana Jones and the British children's sitcomMaid Marian and Her Merry Men. It featured the cartoon "Mad Gadget" by Chris Winn, and a computer gameMad Gadget: Lost In Time (1993) and a bookMad Gadget: Gadget Mad (1995) were produced.
In 1995, an interactive spin-off calledElectronic Young Telegraph (EYT) was launched on floppy disk. Described as an interactive computer magazine for children,Electronic Young Telegraph was edited by Adam Tanswell, who led the relaunch of the product on CD-Rom in 1998.[134]Electronic Young Telegraph featured original content including interactive quizzes, informative features and computer games, as well as entertainment news and reviews. It was later re-branded asT:Drive in 1999.
Telegraph.co.uk is the online version of the newspaper. It uses the banner titleThe Telegraph and includes articles from the print editions ofThe Daily Telegraph andThe Sunday Telegraph, as well as web-only content such as breaking news, features, picture galleries and blogs. It was named UK Consumer Website of the Year in 2007[135] and Digital Publisher of the year in 2009[136] by the Association of Online Publishers.[137] The site is overseen by Kate Day,[138] digital director of Telegraph Media Group. Other staff include Shane Richmond, head of technology (editorial),[139] and Ian Douglas, head of digital production.[140] In November 2012, international customers accessing the Telegraph.co.uk site would have to sign up for a subscription package. Visitors had access to 20 free articles a month before having to subscribe for unlimited access. In March 2013, the pay meter system was also rolled out in the UK.[141]
The site, which has been the focus of the group's efforts to create an integrated news operation producing content for print and online from the same newsroom, completed a relaunch during 2008 involving the use of the Escenic content management system, popular among northern European and Scandinavian newspaper groups. Telegraph TV is aVideo on Demand service run byThe Daily Telegraph and theSunday Telegraph. It is hosted onThe Telegraph's website, telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph.co.uk became the most popular UK newspaper site in April 2008.[142] It was overtaken by Guardian.co.uk in April 2009 and later by "Mail Online".[143] In December 2010, "Telegraph.co.uk" was the third most visited British newspaper website with 1.7 million daily browsers compared to 2.3 million for "Guardian.co.uk" and nearly 3 million for "Mail Online".[144] In October 2023, "Telegraph.co.uk" was the tenth most visited UK newspaper site, with 13.8 million monthly visits, compared to the most popular, theBBC, with 38.3 million.[145]
The website was launched, under the nameelectronic telegraph at midday on 15 November 1994 at the headquarters ofThe Daily Telegraph atCanary Wharf inLondon Docklands withBen Rooney as its first editor.[146] It was Europe's first daily web-based newspaper. At this time, the modern internet was still in its infancy, with as few as 10,000 websites estimated to have existed at the time – compared to more than 100 billion by 2009. In 1994, only around 1% of the British population (some 600,000 people) had internet access at home, compared to more than 80% in 2009.[147]
Initially, the site published only the top stories from the print edition of the newspaper but it gradually increased its coverage until virtually all of the newspaper was carried online and the website was also publishing original material. The website, hosted on aSun Microsystems Sparc 20 server and connected via a 64 kbit/sleased line fromDemon Internet, was edited by Ben Rooney.[citation needed]
An early coup for the site was the publication of articles byAmbrose Evans-Pritchard onBill Clinton and theWhitewater controversy. The availability of the articles online brought a large American audience to the site. In 1997, the Clinton administration issued a 331-page report that accused Evans-Pritchard of peddling "right-wing inventions".Derek Bishton, who by then had succeeded Rooney as editor, later wrote: "In the days before ET it would have been highly unlikely that anyone in the US would have been aware of Evans-Pritchard's work – and certainly not to the extent that the White House would be forced to issue such a lengthy rebuttal."[148] Bishton, who later became consulting editor for Telegraph Media Group, was followed as editor byRichard Burton, who was made redundant in August 2006. Edward Roussel replaced Burton.
My Telegraph offers a platform for readers to have their own blog, save articles, and network with other readers. Launched in May 2007,My Telegraph won a Cross Media Award from international newspaper organisation IFRA in October 2007.[149] One of the judges,Robert Cauthorn, described the project as "the best deployment of blogging yet seen in any newspaper anywhere in the world".
In December 2010,Telegraph reporters posing as constituentssecretly recorded Business SecretaryVince Cable. In an undisclosed part of the transcript given to theBBC'sRobert Peston by a whistleblower unhappy thatThe Telegraph had not published Cable's comments in full, Cable stated in reference toRupert Murdoch'sNews Corporation takeover bid for BSkyB, "I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win."[150] Following this revelation, Cable had his responsibility for media affairs – including ruling on Murdoch's takeover plans – withdrawn from his role as business secretary.[151]
In May 2011, thePress Complaints Commission upheld a complaint regardingThe Telegraph's use of subterfuge: "On this occasion, the commission was not convinced that the public interest was such as to justify proportionately this level of subterfuge."[152] In July 2011, a firm of private investigators hired byThe Telegraph to track the source of the leak concluded "strong suspicion" that two formerTelegraph employees who had moved toNews International, one of themWill Lewis, had gained access to the transcript and audio files and leaked them to Peston.[153]
In May 2009,The Daily Telegraph obtained a full copy of all the expenses claims of British Members of Parliament. TheTelegraph began publishing, in instalments from 8 May 2009, certain MPs' expenses.[154] TheTelegraph justified the publication of the information because it contended that the official information due to be released would have omitted key information about redesignating of second-home nominations.[155] This led to a number of high-profile resignations from both the ruling Labour administration and the Conservative opposition.
In September 2016,Telegraph reporters posing as businessmen filmedEngland managerSam Allardyce offering to give advice on how to get around on FA rules on playerthird party ownership and negotiating a £400,000 deal.[14] The investigation saw Allardyce leave his job by mutual consent on 27 September and making the statement "entrapment has won".[156]
Denise Bates includedThe Daily Telegraph in a list of national newspapers which, because of the quality of their reporting, or the extent of their audience, stand out and are likely to be used for historical research.[157] The editors ofEncyclopaedia Britannica said thatThe Daily Telegraph has consistently had a "high standard of reporting".[158]The Daily Telegraph was renowned for its foreign correspondents. According to the DNCJ, during the nineteenth century,The Daily Telegraph had excellent coverage of the arts.[11] In 1989, Nicholas and Erbach said thatThe Daily Telegraph is factually accurate, and that its reputation for being so extends outside the country.[159]
The Daily Telegraph has been named theNational Newspaper of the Year in 2009, 1996 and 1993, whileThe Sunday Telegraph won the same award in 1999. Its investigation on the2009 expenses scandal was named the "Scoop of the Year" in 2009, withWilliam Lewis winning "Journalist of the Year".[160] TheTelegraph won "Team of the Year" in 2004 for its coverage of theIraq War.[160] The paper also won "Columnist of the Year" three years' running from 2002 to 2004:Zoë Heller (2002),Robert Harris (2003) andBoris Johnson (2004).[160]
The Telegraph designedPaddington Bear statue—themed "Good News Bear"—in London, auctioned to raise funds for theNSPCC.
In 1979, following a letter inThe Daily Telegraph and a Government report highlighting the shortfall in care available for premature babies,Bliss, the special care baby charity, was founded. In 2009, as part of the Bliss 30th birthday celebrations, the charity was chosen as one of four beneficiaries of the newspaper's Christmas Charity Appeal.[161] In February 2010, a cheque was presented to Bliss for £120,000.[162]
^Topping, Alexandra; Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (7 June 2024)."Anger mounts at Washington Post over leadership changes and CEO's record".The Guardian. Retrieved7 June 2024.A trusted paper once considered on the centre-right of politics, the Telegraph has tacked ever further to the fringes in recent years, embracing populist-leaning leaders and their ideas. … Media observers and multiple former Telegraph journalists told the Guardian how it had moved away from its traditional middle-of-the-road conservatism to a far harder, often rightwing populist-leaning paper.
^Pellegrino, Silvia (20 June 2023)."Who owns The Telegraph?".Press Gazette. New Statesman Media Group Limited. Retrieved27 June 2024.The Daily Telegraph and Courier was founded by British Army officer Colonel Arthur B Sleigh, reportedly to air a personal grievance against Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, ina June 1855 after the abolition of stamp duty on newspapers made them more affordable for the general public.
^abWatt, Donald Cameron "Rumors as Evidence" pages 276–286 fromRussia War, Peace and Diplomacy edited by Ljubica & Mark Erickson, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004 page 278.
^White, Dominic (22 December 2005)."Telegraph moves to Victoria".The Daily Telegraph. London.Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved18 September 2009.
^Waterson, Jim; Jones, Dean Sterling (14 April 2020)."Daily Telegraph stops publishing section paid for by China".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077. Retrieved24 May 2024.However, in recent days the dedicated content has been wiped from the Telegraph's website along with another section that reproduced material from China's People's Daily Online...The Telegraph has run many pieces critical of China since the start of the pandemic. [...] Another comment piece entitled "The Left have become China's useful covidiots" suggested the "Chinese Communist party's cover ups and lies" helped play a role in spreading the virus around the world.
^abSteve Peak and Paul Fisher (eds). The Media Guide 2001. (The Guardian Media Guide 2001). Ninth Annual Edition. Mathew Clayton. 2000. ISBN 1841154237. p 58.
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Hart-Davis, Duff (1991).The house the Berrys built: inside the Telegraph, 1928-1986. Sevenoaks: Coronet.ISBN9780340553367.
Hastings, Max (October 2024).Editor. London: Pan Macmillan.ISBN9781035057344. A memoir of Hastings' ten years as the paper's editor.
Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher.The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers (1980) pp. 111–16.
William Camrose: Giant of Fleet Street by his son Lord Hartwell. Illustrated biography with black-and-white photographic plates and includes an index. Concerns his links withThe Daily Telegraph.
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