The Observer
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The Observer is a broadsheet newspaper of the United Kingdom published on Sundays. It takes a liberal/social democratic line on most issues.
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History
The first issue (published on December 4, 1791), was the world's first Sunday newspaper.
In 1911, William Waldorf Astor (1848-1919) purchased The Observer from the Harmsworth family. The Observer had changed its position in 1942. Till then, it had always been a Tory paper, under the 34-year editorship of J. L. Garvin. After his time, it declared itself non-partisan, at that time an unusual stance, but today one claimed by almost all papers.
Passed on to son Waldorf Astor, he in turn passed it on in 1948 to his sons, of which David Astor (1912-2001) would be the paper's editor for 27 years. In 1977, the Astors sold the ailing newspaper to US oil giant Atlantic Richfield (now called ARCO) for US$1 who later sold it to Lonrho plc. Since June 1993, it has been part of the Guardian Media Group.
On February 27, 2005 it launched The Observer Blog [1] (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/index.html), making it the first newspaper to purposefully document its own internal decisions, and the first newspaper to indulge in podcasting.
The Newsroom - Guardian and Observer Archive and Visitor Centre
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.
Reference
- HISTORY OF GMG 1990 - 1999, Guardian Media Group website; as of March 2, 2003; [2] (http://www.gmgplc.co.uk/gmgplc/aboutus/abthistory/) (link requires Flash to view timeline)
External links
- Observer website (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/)
- Information about The Newsroom Archive and Visitor Centre (http://www.guardian.co.uk/newsroom)
- Article in the Observer about Wikipedia (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1302435,00.html)