The European (newspaper)

The European, billed as "Europe's first national newspaper", was a British weekly newspaper founded by Robert Maxwell.[1] It was published from 11 May 1990 until December 1998.

The European
Front page of the first issue
TypeWeekly newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Robert Maxwell (1990–91)
Barclay Brothers (1992–98)
Launched11 May 1990 (1990-05-11)
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publication14 December 1998 (1998-12-14)
CityLondon
CountryUnited Kingdom
OCLC number25062933

History

Maxwell founded the paper in the fervour which immediately followed the destruction of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the Iron Curtain: the name was a reflection of the feelings of pan-European unity which were brought on by the historic changes, an ideal which Maxwell wholeheartedly supported.[2] According to Time magazine, Maxwell originally envisaged a daily with a circulation of 650,000, but by the launch date plans had been cut down to a more realistic weekly with a circulation of 225,000.[3] In the event, the circulation peaked at 180,000, over half of which was British.

Following Maxwell's death, the Barclay brothers bought the newspaper in 1992, investing an estimated $110 million and in 1996 transforming it into a high-end tabloid format oriented at the business community edited by Andrew Neil.

In 1996, The European had a staff of 70 in London, 3 in Brussels, 1 in Paris, 1 in Berlin, 1 in Moscow, as well as a network of 100 freelance writers throughout Europe.

Among the newspaper's innovations was a weekly short fiction contribution from published and previously unpublished writers.

The New European (a pro-EU newspaper founded in 2016 following the Brexit referendum) is partially inspired by The European's experience.

Editors

Contributors (partial list)

References

Further reading

See also

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