Broadsheet is a size and format for newspapers, and a descriptive term applied to papers which use that format rather than the smaller tabloid format.
Broadsheet newspapers tend to be more intellectual in content than their tabloid counterparts, examining stories in more depth and carrying sensationalist celebrity stories less often. However, while this distinction is widely used, some tabloid papers (particularly The Daily Mail and The Express) point out that the term "tabloid" strictly refers only to the paper size, and often use phrases such as "broadsheet quality in a tabloid format".
In the UK, four major daily broadsheets are distributed nationwide, two generally on the right wing politically, and two more left wing:
The Independent has started concurrent production of both broadsheet and tabloid editions (currently only in Greater London. The two editions have exactly the same content, putting a new spin on the phrase "broadsheeet quality in a tabloid format".The UK has other prominent broadsheets. The Scotsman is not a true national newspaper, as it is mostly distributed in Scotland. The Financial Times is also printed and sold in other countries; as the British equivalent of the Wall Street Journal, it lends its most detailed attention to financial news.
The average circulation of the Times is around 650,000 and the Telegraph sells 970,000 copies daily, while the circulations of the Guardian and Independent are more approximately 375,000 and 200,000. The Financial Times sells over 400,000 copies, the Scotsman maybe 80,000 (All figures August 2002).
See also List of newspapers.
