Newspaper of record

A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the oldest and most widely respected newspapers in the world. The level and trend in the number of "newspapers of record by reputation" is regarded as being related to the state of press freedom and political freedom in a country.

It may also be a newspaper authorized to publish public or legal notices, thus serving as a newspaper of public record. A newspaper whose editorial content is largely directed by the state can be referred to as an official newspaper of record, but the lack of editorial independence means that it is not a "newspaper of record by reputation". Newspapers of record by reputation that focus on business can also be called newspapers of financial record.

Newspapers of public record

A "newspaper of public record", or government gazette, refers to a publicly available newspaper that is authorized by a government to publish public or legal notices. It is often established by statute or official action and publication of notices within it, whether by the government or a private party, is usually considered sufficient to comply with legal requirements for public notice. Such gazettes often have little editorial content (i.e. opinion articles), and are focused on the transmission of information to the public regarding state services and state decisions; an example is Latvia's Latvijas Vēstnesis.

In some jurisdictions, privately owned newspapers may register with the public authorities to publish public and legal notices, or be otherwise eligible to publish such notices (terms used may include "newspaper of general circulation" among others). Likewise, a private newspaper may be designated by the courts for publication of legal notices, such as notices of fictitious business names, if certain judicial and statutory standards are met. These are sometimes called "legally adjudicated newspapers".

As government communications

The term "newspapers of public record" can also be used to denote those that are owned and operated by a government that directs their entire editorial content. Such newspapers, while pejoratively termed "state mouthpieces", can also be called "official newspapers of record", independently of whether or not it also publishes legal notices - distinguishing them from a gazette whose primary role is to publish notices, as their entire editorial copy represents the official view and doctrine of the State. This kind of official newspaper should not be confused with newspapers of record by reputation or for their reliability, and in fact are liable to fail the reputation criterial due to the level of governmental control involved. Inclusion of the word "official" can be used to separate them from "newspapers of record by reputation". Notable examples include Russia's Rossiyskaya Gazeta, North Korea's Rodong Sinmun, and China's People's Daily.

By reputation

The second type of "newspaper of record" (also known as a "journal of record", or by the French term presse de référence) is not defined by any formal criteria and their characteristics can vary. The category typically consists of those newspapers that are considered to meet higher standards of journalism than most print media, including editorial independence (particularly from the ruling government and from its owners), accountability (mistakes are acknowledged), attention to detail and accuracy, and comprehensiveness and balance of coverage; they are often renowned internationally, and regarded as sources in their country and/or region by other global outlets.

Some newspapers of record by reputation, while respected for the accuracy and quality of their reporting, can still be recognized as ideologically conservative (e.g. The Wall Street Journal and The Telegraph) or liberal (e.g. The Washington Post and The Guardian).

While many countries are proud of their newspapers of record by reputation, in some countries, they face an openly hostile state or political system that tries to suppress their press freedoms. Examples include Turkey's Cumhuriyet, where many of the staff have been imprisoned, Panama's La Prensa, where staff have been shot and the owners forced into exile, and Venezuela's El Nacional, which was effectively forced out of print by the state who seized all their assets.

Despite changes in society, newspapers of record by reputation have historically tended to maintain a similar tone, coverage, style, and traditions; many newspapers of record are over a century old, with some close to, or over, two centuries old (e.g. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, The Times, The Guardian, Le Figaro, and The Sydney Morning Herald).

Etymology

The term is believed to have originated among librarians who began referring to The New York Times as the "newspaper of record" when it became the first U.S. newspaper in 1913 to publish an index of the subjects covered in its pages. In recognition of the usage, The New York Times held an essay contest in 1927 in which entrants had to demonstrate "The Value of The New York Times Index and Files as a Newspaper of Record". The New York Times, and other newspapers of its type, then sought to be chroniclers of events, acting as a record of the day's announcements, schedules, directories, proceedings, transcripts and appointments. The New York Times no longer considers itself a newspaper of record in the original, literal sense.

Over time, historians relied on The New York Times and similar titles as a reliable archival and historical record of significant past events, and a gauge of societal opinions at the time of printing. The term "newspaper of record" evolved from its original literal sense to its currently understood meaning.

The derived term "financial (or business) newspaper of record" is attributed to the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei).

Examples of fallen newspapers

Over time, some established newspapers of record by reputation have lost their status due to various factors including financial collapse, take-over or merger by another entity that did not have the same standards or allowed continued independence, and/or increased government control and suppression of the paper's editorial independence. The existence of newspapers of record by reputation is an aspect of the level of press freedom and political freedom in a country, with major first-world democracies having several such newspapers (e.g. United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Italy and Japan); in contrast, countries that have seen a decline in their newspapers of record by reputation can represent a decline in levels of personal and political freedom (e.g. Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Cambodia).

Examples include:

• Zimbabwe's The Herald, lost its status as an established newspaper of record when it was eventually taken over by Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
• Venezuela's newspaper of record, El Nacional, was forced out of print by the state in 2018, and its headquarters was given to a high-ranking official.
• London-based pan-Arab newspaper of record, Al-Hayat, ceased in 2020 due to financial and political pressures.
• In Cambodia, the Hun Sen administration forced both of Cambodia's newspapers of record out of business using contrived tax fines that resulted in the closure of The Cambodia Daily in 2017, and the sale of The Phnom Penh Post to a close ally of the Hun Sen administration in 2018.
• Latvian newspaper Diena saw its established status as a newspaper of record diminished post a 2010 takeover, with the Historical Dictionary of Latvia (2017) listing it as "holding tenuously to a popular newspaper-of-record sentiment at home and abroad" due to "questions of ownership and if said owners influence newspaper content".

Selected existing examples

Country	Region	Newspaper		City of publication	Founded	Language	Refs.
Argentina	South America		La Nación	Buenos Aires	1870	Spanish
Australia	Oceania	—	The Age	Melbourne	1854	English
			The Sydney Morning Herald	Sydney	1831
Austria	Europe		Die Presse	Vienna	1848	German
			Der Standard		1988
Bahamas	Caribbean	—	The Nassau Guardian	Nassau	1844	English
Bangladesh	South Asia	—	The Daily Star	Dhaka	1991	English
Belgium	Europe		Le Soir	Brussels	1887	French
			De Standaard	Groot-Bijgaarden	1918	Dutch
Bolivia	South America	—	El Diario	La Paz	1904	Spanish
Brazil	South America		O Estado de S. Paulo	São Paulo	1875	Portuguese
			Folha de S.Paulo		1921
			O Globo	Rio de Janeiro	1925
Canada	North America		Le Devoir	Montreal	1910	French
			The Globe and Mail	Toronto	1844	English
			La Presse	Montreal	1884	French
Chile	South America		El Mercurio	Santiago	1900	Spanish
Colombia	South America		El Tiempo	Bogotá	1911	Spanish
Czech Republic	Europe		Lidové noviny	Prague	1893	Czech
Denmark	Europe		Berlingske	Copenhagen	1749	Danish
Egypt	Africa	—	Al-Ahram	Cairo	1875	Arabic
Finland	Europe		Helsingin Sanomat	Helsinki	1889	Finnish
France	Europe		Le Figaro	Paris	1826	French
			Libération		1973
			Le Monde		1944
Germany	Europe		Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung	Frankfurt	1949	German
			Der Spiegel	Hamburg	1947
			Süddeutsche Zeitung	Munich	1945
			Die Zeit	Hamburg	1946
Greece	Europe		Kathimerini	Athens	1919	Greek
Hong Kong	East Asia		South China Morning Post	Hong Kong	1903	English
India	South Asia		The Hindu	Chennai	1878	English
			The Times of India	Mumbai	1838
			The Statesman	Kolkata	1875
Indonesia	Southeast Asia		Kompas	Jakarta	1965	Indonesian
Iran	West Asia		Ettela'at	Tehran	1926	Persian
Ireland	Europe		The Irish Times	Dublin	1859	English
Israel	West Asia		Haaretz	Tel Aviv	1919	Hebrew and English
Italy	Europe		Il Sole 24 Ore	Milan	1965	Italian
			Corriere della Sera	Milan	1876
			La Stampa	Turin	1867
			la Repubblica	Rome	1976
Jamaica	Caribbean	—	The Gleaner	Kingston	1834	English
Japan	East Asia		The Asahi Shimbun	Osaka	1879	Japanese
			Mainichi Shimbun	Tokyo	1872
			Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei)		1876
			Yomiuri Shimbun		1874
Kenya	Africa	—	Daily Nation	Nairobi	1960	English
Lebanon	West Asia	—	An-Nahar	Beirut	1933	Arabic
Malaysia	Southeast Asia		New Straits Times	Kuala Lumpur	1965	English
Mexico	North America	—	Reforma	Mexico City	1993	Spanish
Netherlands	Europe	—	NRC	Amsterdam	1970	Dutch
New Zealand	Oceania		The New Zealand Herald	Auckland	1863	English
Norway	Europe		Aftenposten	Oslo	1860	Norwegian (Riksmål)
Pakistan	South Asia		Dawn	Karachi	1941	English
Panama	Central America		La Prensa	Panama City	1980	Spanish
Peru	South America		El Comercio	Lima	1839	Spanish
Philippines	Southeast Asia		Philippine Daily Inquirer	Makati	1985	English
Poland	Europe	—	Gazeta Wyborcza	Warsaw	1989	Polish
		—	Rzeczpospolita		1920
Portugal	Europe		Diário de Notícias	Lisbon	1864	Portuguese
			Público	Lisbon	1990
Serbia	Europe		Politika	Belgrade	1904	Serbian
Singapore	Southeast Asia		The Straits Times	Singapore	1845	English
South Africa	Africa		Mail & Guardian	Johannesburg	1985	English
South Korea	East Asia		The Chosun Ilbo	Seoul	1920	Korean
			The Dong-a Ilbo		1920
			JoongAng Ilbo		1965
Spain	Europe		ABC	Madrid	1903	Spanish
			El Mundo		1989
			El País		1976
Sweden	Europe		Dagens Nyheter	Stockholm	1864	Swedish
Switzerland	Europe		Neue Zürcher Zeitung	Zurich	1780	German
			Le Temps	Geneva	1998	French
Thailand	Southeast Asia		Bangkok Post	Bangkok	1946	English
Trinidad and Tobago	Caribbean	—	Trinidad and Tobago Guardian	Port of Spain	1917	English
Turkey	West Asia		Cumhuriyet	Istanbul	1924	Turkish
United Kingdom	Europe		The Daily Telegraph	London	1855	English
			The Financial Times		1888
			The Guardian		1821
		—	The Times		1785
United States	North America		Los Angeles Times	Los Angeles	1881	English
			The New York Times	New York City	1851
			The Wall Street Journal		1889
			The Washington Post	Washington, D.C.	1877
Vatican City	Europe		L'Osservatore Romano	Rome	1861	Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Polish, Portuguese

See also

• Freedom of the press
• Grupo de Diarios América
• List of national newspapers
• List of government gazettes