OK, this was sparked by comments on another thread regarding the relative merits of newspapers in keeping us, the hoi polloi, informed about important news events. I have argued that the tabloids do not serve this purpose as well as the broadsheets (and now compacts). I contend that the tabloids focus on populist agendas with little coverage of background issues, whilst the broadsheets, of whatever political hue, provide more in depth and reasoned coverage.
To get a snapshot picture I have looked at all the main dailies today and below is either their front page leads (where I can determine them) or the lead domestic story on their website. I've focused on domestic stories purely because it's difficult to tell on some sites what is the overall lead, but it's usually a domestic story.
Daily Express
http://www.express.co.uk/ Labour Threat To State Pension
The Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,169,00.html Parties Warned Against Inflaming Race Tension
Financial Times
http://news.ft.com/home/uk/ UK Consumer Inflation Highest For Seven Years
Daily Mirror
http://mirror.co.uk Caught Again! (Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea)
Daily Telegraph
http://telegraph.co.uk Howard Pledges £1.7bn Pension Boost
The Guardian
http://guardian.co.uk Blair Retreats From EU Vote
The Sun
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2...410028,00.html Why Was He Out? (Hobson Case)
The Independent
http://independent.co.uk Immigration May Cause Race Riots, Howard Says
Daily Star
http://megastar.co.uk Doesnââ‚ƚ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t actually appear to have any current affairs coverage!
Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk Mother: Jackson Fooled The World
Headlines are not an ideal way of determining the validity or otherwise of coverage, but do give some idea of the agendas being followed.
So, tabloids or broadsheets folks?!