The Daily Sport

Daily Sport
Type Daily newspaper
Format Tabloid
Owner(s) David Sullivan (1991–2011)
Grant Miller (2011–present)
Founder(s) David Sullivan
Publisher Daily Sport Ltd.
(previously by Sport Newspapers)
Founded 1991
Political alignment None, (focuses on yellow journalism)
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Circulation online publication
Website dailysport.co.uk

The Daily Sport was a tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom by Daily Sport Ltd., which specialised in celebrity news and softcore pornographic stories and images. The daily paper was launched in 1991 by David Sullivan, following its former Sunday sister title, Sunday Sport (first published in 1986).[1] It ceased publication and entered administration on 1 April 2011.[2] Following the purchase on 7 June by the telecom, travel and internet entrepreneur Grant Miller, the new online Daily Sport[3] was re-launched on 17 August 2011 with sports coverage plus classified advertising for the first time in its 20-year history. There are not thought to be any plans for a re-launch; however, Midweek Sport, Weekend Sport and Sunday Sport are still published by Sunday Sport (2011) Ltd.[4][5]

Focus and content

The Sport did not focus on political news or world events, although in 2008 Lembit Opik (the former Liberal Democrat MP) began a regular weekly political column.[6] Instead, its news coverage indulged more in yellow journalism, with an emphasis on celebrities, bad behaviour and toilet humour.

The Daily Sport and Sunday Sport were known for their ridiculous headlines that referred to fabricated stories, such as "World War Two Bomber Found on Moon". Later editorial practice meant an end to such stories and an increased focus on celebrity news and sexual revelations.

Daily Sport often published fake nude pictures of celebrities and also paparazzi 'upskirt' and 'downblouse' or nipple slip pictures. The fake nude pictures were published with the appropriate disclaimers and captions, although the front cover image was often accompanied by a titillating caption, like "Tender tips make tastier tea". In 2008 The Sport was criticised by the Press Complaints Commission for glamourising suicide by publishing a "Top yourself tourism list".[7]

A large portion of advertising was for adult goods and services, such as phone-sex chat lines and Internet chat and cam sites. A feature of the paper was the classified advertisements, which in reality were a series of short advertisements for massage parlours and escort services across the country. In later years, the classified adverts had also become a place for swingers to advertise, as the swinging scene had grown.

In the publishing of newspapers however The Daily Sport did acquire a certain amount of recognition and respectability for becoming the pioneers of the very first football crossword in the UK. The soccer crossword positioned in the back pages alongside the football journalists reports was unique in the fact that the clues were solely devoted to questions which related to the country's national game. The compiler Thomas Trickett's service was selected because of his erudite nature of the game and was renowned throughout the English Football League grounds as his crosswords were included in the majority of soccer match day programmes throughout the 1990s. The specialised crossword proved to be highly popular and after two years of his work appearing in the Daily Sport the grid also became a regular feature in the Sunday Sport editions. Carlton Publishing House in London were that impressed with the crosswords that they selected Thomas Trickett to become the official compiler for two books on behalf of both Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC at Europe's largest book fair in Frankfurt, Germany in 2004.

The Sport claimed to have launched the careers of numerous models, among them Linsey Dawn McKenzie, who began posing topless for the newspaper in 1994, and Cherry Dee who began posing topless for them in 2003 when they were both 16 (the legal age for such activity in the UK at the time). Among recent popular Sport models were Kelly Bell, Hannah Claydon and Lauren Pope; however, very few Sport models also appeared in the other tabloids which the paper regarded as its rivals.

The Daily Sport and Sunday Sport were sold by David Sullivan to Sport Media Group in 2007. The papers were relaunched in April 2008 under the editorial leadership of Barry McIlheney and James Brown, the founder of loaded. In October 2008, Pam McVitie was appointed the first female editor of the Daily Sport.[8][9] In 2009, SMG had to be bailed out by David Sullivan and Gold Group International, after having been put up for sale by its owners.[10][11] Publication was suspended from 1 April 2011 after Sport Media Group ceased trading and was broken up by administrators. Entrepreneur Grant Miller acquired the rights to the Daily Sport and relaunched it online through a new company Daily Sport Limited. Sullivan now publishes the Midweek Sport (Wednesdays), Weekend Sport (Fridays) and Sunday Sport, through his company Sunday Sport (2011) Limited.[4][12]

Circulation

Circulation levels in 2009 were 84,000[13] and rising, but they then fell sharply with the company's financial difficulties.[14] The publication now only exists online.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "R.I.P. Daily and Sunday Sport". BBC. 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  2. ↑ Daily Sport ceases publication and calls in administrators. Press Gazette. Retrieved on 2011-04-03.
  3. ↑
  4. 1 2 James Robinson; Mark While Weekly Sport is published by Independent News Ltd and focuses on genuine sport news and campaigns against soft porn publishing. 'Sweney (10 August 2011). "David Sullivan could launch Friday edition of Daily Sport guardian.co.uk". Guardian. UK. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Mark Sweney (4 June 2011). "David Sullivan paid just £50,000 for Sunday Sport | Media | guardian.co.uk". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Lembit to become Daily Sport political columnist. Libdemvoice.org (2008-12-11). Retrieved on 2011-04-03.
  7. ↑ PCC censures Daily Sport for glamorising suicide | Media | guardian.co.uk. Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-04-03.
  8. ↑ Daily Sport appoints first female editor | Media | guardian.co.uk. Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-04-03.
  9. ↑ Daily Sport revamp targets 'the boys' The Guardian 26 February 2008
  10. ↑ Sport Media Group seeks buyer | Media | guardian.co.uk. Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-04-03.
  11. ↑ Former owner David Sullivan agrees loan deal with Daily Sport publisher | Media | guardian.co.uk. Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-04-03.
  12. 1 2 Daily Sport (defunct), British Newspapers Online. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  13. ↑ McNally, Paul. (2009-06-10) Daily Sport sees 'encouraging' circulation growth. Press Gazette. Retrieved on 2011-04-03.
  14. ↑ Daily Sport withdrawn from ABC sales audit as circulation plummets | Media | guardian.co.uk. Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-04-03.
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