News of the World

The News of the World. steel sign 500mm x 415mm

The newspaper was first published as The News of the World on 1 October 1843, by John Brown Bell in London. Priced at three pence (equal to £1.1 today), even before the repeal of the Stamp Act (1855) or paper duty (1861), it was the cheapest newspaper of its timeand was aimed directly at the newly literate working classes. It quickly established itself as a purveyor of titillation, shock, and criminal news. Much of the source material came from coverage of vice prosecutions, including transcripts of police descriptions of alleged brothels, streetwalkers, and "immoral" women.