Berrow's Worcester Journal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Berrow's Worcester Journal is the oldest surviving newspaper in the United Kingdom and is owned by Newsquest, the second largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the country. It also claims to be the world's oldest newspaper.
Founded in 1690 by Stephen Bryan (who was both the proprietor, the editor and the printer of the newspaper) under the name of the Worcester Post Man, it took advantage of the sudden increase in interest by the upper class in the printed word. Upon its creation it was openly supportive of the new joint sovereignty of King William III and his wife Queen Mary II in a town which was traditionally loyal to the House of Stuart. Although it was published and sold locally, over an area containing Wolverhampton, Tewkesbury, Gloucester and Birmingham as well as Worcester, it carried no local news at all, instead reporting on decisions made in Parliament, foreign affairs and events in London.
The newspaper changed its name to the Worcester Journal in 1709 and was sold by Bryant to Harvey Berrow in 1748. For several years Berrow continued to publish the newspaper as the Worcester Journal until a competitor, trying to gain off the success of the Journal, launched a rival title under the same name. Berrow was forced to change the title to Berrow's Worcester Journal and has been known as such ever since, despite the family having long since ceased any connection with the Journal.
Berrow was the third son of a curate and chaplain and was a Peterborough apothecary, or chemist. This was not unusual during this time of the early newspaper proprietors, who would sell medicines alongside their newspapers. Berrow would promote his elixir for dropsy and his powder for gout in his paper, much as newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch today often promote Sky Digital (UK). The paper itself was sold for 2.5 pence every week and was five pages long.
Today, Berrow's Worcester Journal is published by Newsquest. Around 47,000 copies are distributed every week, with all but 1,500 dispensed freely. A website is dedicated to the history of the Journal, with the contents of the newspaper uploaded every week onto its main page for anybody to access.
