The British press: Britain's press flies to Egypt... to interview British tourists | The Economist
THE CRISIS in Egypt is keeping British newspapers busy this morning, with several tabloids sending reporters to Cairo to report the drama from the ground.
This is how the main stories from Britain’s best-selling dailies begin. Keen-eyed media studies graduates may detect a pattern:
The Daily Mail (average daily circulation last month 2,030,968): “British tourists…”
The Sun (average circulation 2,717,013): “Thirty thousand Brits…”
The Daily Mirror (average circulation 1,133,440): “Britons were urged to flee…”
The Daily Express (average circulation 623,689): “Up to 30,000 Britons…”
It is not just the opening lines. The Daily Mail’s 28 paragraph story devotes 18 paragraphs to the “terrifying ordeal” endured by British tourists (not one of whom has been harmed to date), including the “mayhem” some had witnessed at Cairo airport, and an interview with a man whose flight was delayed for seven hours.
January 31, 2011, 1:14pm
