Broadsheet

Comparison of some newspaper sizes with metric paper sizes. Approximate nominal dimensions are in millimetres.

Many broadsheets measure roughly 29 ¹⁄₂ by 23 ¹⁄₂ in (749 by 597 mm) per full broadsheet spread, twice the size of a standard tabloid. Australian and New Zealand broadsheets always have a paper size of A1 per spread (841 by 594 mm or 33.1 by 23.4 in). South African broadsheet newspapers have a double-page spread sheet size of 820 by 578 mm (32.3 by 22.8 in) (single-page live print area of 380 x 545 mm). Others measure 22 in (560 mm) vertically.

In the United States, the traditional dimensions for the front page half of a broadsheet are 15 in (381 mm) wide by 22 ³⁄₄ in (578 mm) long. However, in efforts to save newsprint costs, many U.S. newspapers [2] have downsized to 12 in (305 mm) wide by 22 ³⁄₄ in (578 mm) long for a folded page.[3][4]

Many rate cards and specification cards refer to the "broadsheet size" with dimensions representing the front page "half of a broadsheet" size, rather than the full, unfolded broadsheet spread. Some quote actual page size and others quote the "printed area" size.

The two versions of the broadsheet are:

• The full broadsheet typically is folded vertically in half so that it forms four pages (the front page front and back and the back page front and back). The four pages are called a spread. Inside broadsheets are nested accordingly.
• The half broadsheet is usually an inside page that is not folded vertically and just includes a front and back.

In uncommon instances, an entire newspaper can be a two-page half broadsheet or four-page full broadsheet. Self-contained advertising circulars inserted in a newspaper in the same format are referred to as broadsheets.

Broadsheets typically are also folded horizontally in half to accommodate newsstand display space. The horizontal fold, however, does not affect the page numbers and the content remains vertical. The most important newspaper stories are placed "above the (horizontal) fold". This contrasts with tabloids, which typically do not have a horizontal fold (although tabloids usually have the four page-to-a-sheet spread format).

The broadsheet has since emerged as the most popular format for the dissemination of printed news. The world's most widely circulated English-language daily broadsheet is The Times of India, a leading English-language daily newspaper from India, followed closely by The Wall Street Journal from the United States, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The broadsheet, broadside, was used as a format for musical and popular prints in the 17th century. Eventually, people began using the broadsheet as a source for political activism by reprinting speeches.

Broadsheet newspapers developed after the British in 1712 placed a tax on newspapers based on the number of their pages. However, larger formats had long been signs of status in printed objects and still are in many places. Outside of Britain the broadsheet developed for other reasons unrelated to the British tax structure including style and authority. With the early mechanization of the 19th century came an increased production of printed materials including the broadside, as well as the competing penny dreadful. In this period, newspapers all over Europe began to print their issues on broadsheets. However, in the United Kingdom, the main competition for the broadside was the gradual reduction of the newspaper tax, beginning in the 1830s, and eventually its dismissal in 1855.[5]

With the increased production of newspapers and literacy, the demand for visual reporting and journalists led to the blending of broadsides and newspapers, creating the modern broadsheet newspaper.

Modern printing facilities most efficiently print broadsheet sections in multiples of eight pages (with four front pages and four back pages). The broadsheet is then cut in half during the process. Thus, the newsprint rolls used are defined by the width necessary to print four front pages. The width of a newsprint roll is called its web. The new 12-inch-wide front page broadsheet newspapers in the United States use a 48-inch web newsprint roll.

With profit margins narrowing for newspapers in the wake of competition from broadcast, cable television, and the internet, newspapers are looking to standardize the size of the newsprint roll. The Wall Street Journal with its 12-in-wide front page was printed on 48-inch web newsprint. Early adopters in the downsizing of broadsheets used a 50-inch web (​12 ¹⁄₂-inch front pages). However, the 48-inch web is now rapidly becoming the definitive standard in the U.S. The New York Times held out on the downsizing until July 2006, saying it would stick to its 54-inch web (​13 ¹⁄₂-inch front page). However, the paper adopted the narrower format beginning Monday, 6 August 2007.

The smaller newspapers also have the advantage of being easier to handle, particularly among commuters.

In some countries, especially Australia, Canada, the UK, and the U.S., broadsheet newspapers are commonly perceived to be more intellectual in content than their tabloid counterparts. They tend to use their greater size to publish stories exploring topics in-depth, while carrying less sensationalist and celebrity-oriented material. This distinction is most obvious on the front page; whereas tabloids tend to have a single story dominated by a headline, broadsheets allow two or more stories to be displayed, of which the most important sit at the top of the page—"above the fold". In other countries, such as Spain, a small format is a universal standard for newspapers—a popular, sensational press has had difficulty taking root—and the tabloid-size does not carry pejorative connotations.

A few newspapers, though, such as the German Bild-Zeitung and others throughout central Europe are tabloids in terms of content, but use the physical broadsheet format.

• Newspaper format