The Edinburgh History of Scottish Newspapers, 1850-1950

This book provides a comprehensive examination of daily and weekly newspapers in Scotland in the century after 1850, considering the city-based daily papers and the local weeklies. It captures the tone of the papers by focusing on issues such as the American Civil War, parliamentary reform, changing attitudes to politics, empire, and social change. It also examines the growth of group ownership of Scottish papers in the 20th century and the reduced role of the local weekly press in shaping opinion.

Format: Hardback
Length: 430 pages
Publication date: 30 April 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

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The first comprehensive examination of daily and weekly newspapers in Scotland in the century after 1850

Considers the city-based daily papers and the numerous local weeklies, which were the most extensively read papers throughout most of the period, containing international and national commentary as well as local reports

Captures the tone of the papers by focusing on such issues as the American Civil War, parliamentary reform, changing attitudes to politics, empire, and social change

Considers issues that were regarded as being distinctively Scottish such as attitudes towards education, democracy, and religion, and how far Scottish newspapers contributed or undermined to the idea of a distinct Scottish identity

Examines the growth of group ownership of Scottish papers in the 20th century and the reduced role of the local weekly press in shaping opinion, and the extent to which, by the 1940s, papers had changed from those in the 19th century

Filling a significant gap in the history of the Scottish press and in Scottish social history, this book draws on a range of sources.

It examines the great expansion of Scottish newspapers, following the removal of the taxes on knowledge through to the mid-20th century.

W. Hamish Fraser provides the historical basis for meaningful, in-depth study of many different aspects of the Scottish press and adds a new dimension to Scottish historical studies.

Through an extensive search of newspapers, the use of local history material, and of the limited business and organisational records that are available, he gathers little-known information on the world of Scottish journalism and on the people who provided the mass of the population with their news and tried to shape their attitudes.

By focusing on different regions, he moves away from earlier attempts to categorise the Scottish press and provides a more nuanced understanding of its development and significance.

Dimension: 244 x 170 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399511537