Evening Standard

The Evening Standard (also the London Evening Standard)

Evening Standard
is a local, free daily newspaper, published Monday to Friday
in tabloid format in London. Since 2009 it has been owned by
Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev. It is the dominant
Type Regional free daily
local/regional evening paper for London and the surrounding
newspaper
area, with coverage of national and international news and
City of London finance. Its current editor is former UK Format Tabloid
Conservative Member of Parliament and Chancellor of the Owner(s) Evgeny Lebedev (63%)
Exchequer, George Osborne. In October 2009, the paper Daily Mail and General
ended a 180-year history of paid circulation and became a free Trust (24.9%)
newspaper, doubling its circulation as part of a change in its Justin Byam Shaw (7%)
business plan.[3] Geordie Greig (5%)[1]
Editor George Osborne
Founded 21 May 1827
Contents Political Conservative
alignment
History
From 1827 to 2009 Language English
Lebedev takeover Headquarters Northcliffe House,
May 2009 relaunch Derry Street,
October 2009: freesheet Kensington
May 2010: mobile application London
March 2018: redesign Circulation 826,064 (as of October
May 2018: financial sponsorship 2019)[2]
2019 redundancies ISSN 2041-4404 (https://ww
Editorial style w.worldcat.org/search?f
2008 London mayoral election q=x0:jrnl&q=n2:2041-4
2010 general election 404)
2015 general election Website www.standard.co.uk (ht
2016 London mayoral election tps://www.standard.co.u
2019 Conservative leadership election k/)
Freesheet and supplements
Website
Editors
References
External links

History
From 1827 to 2009
The newspaper was founded by barrister Stanley Lees Giffard on
21 May 1827, as the Standard.[4] The early owner of the paper
was Charles Baldwin. Under the ownership of James Johnstone,
The Standard became a morning paper from 29 June 1857. The
Evening Standard was published from 11 June 1859. The
Standard gained eminence for its detailed foreign news, notably
its reporting of events of the American Civil War (1861–1865),
the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and the Franco-Prussian War of
1870, all contributing to a rise in circulation.[5] By the end of the
19th century, the evening edition eclipsed its morning
counterpart.

Both The Standard and the Evening Standard were acquired by

C. Arthur Pearson in 1904.[6] In May 1915, Edward Hulton Headlines of the Evening Standard
purchased the Evening Standard from Davison Dalziel.[7] Dalziel on the day of London bombing on 7
had purchased both papers in 1910,[8] and closed The Standard, July 2005, at Waterloo station
the morning paper, in 1916.[6] Hulton introduced the gossip
column Londoner's Diary, originally billed as "a column written
by gentlemen for gentlemen".

In 1923, Lord Beaverbrook, owner of the Daily Express, bought

Hulton's newspapers, although he sold them shortly thereafter to
the Daily Mail's owner Lord Rothermere, with the exception of
the Standard. It became a staunchly Conservative paper, harshly
attacking Labour in 1945 in a high-profile campaign that
backfired. In the 1960s, the paper was upstaged by The Evening Unloading the London Evening
News, which sold over 1 million copies nightly. During the Standard at Chancery Lane Station,
decade, the paper also began to publish the comic strip Modesty Holborn, Nov 2014.
Blaise, which bolstered its sales throughout the 1970s. The
Evening Standard ceased publishing on Saturdays on 30 Nov
1974, when it still produced six editions daily.[9]

In 1980, Express Newspapers merged the Standard with Associated Newspapers' Evening News in a Joint
Operating Agreement. The new paper was known as the New Standard until 1985, when Associated
Newspapers bought out the remaining stake, turning it into The Standard. In 1987 the Evening News was
briefly revived to compete with Robert Maxwell's London Daily News, but was reabsorbed into The
Standard later that year, after the collapse of Maxwell's paper. In 1988 the Evening Standard included the
by-line "Incorporating the 'Evening News'", which remained until the paper's sale in 2009.

Lebedev takeover
On 21 January 2009, the Russian businessman and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and his son
Evgeny Lebedev, owners of The Independent, agreed to purchase control of the newspaper at £1 for 64
percent ownership.[1][10] A few years earlier, 12 percent of the paper was sold to Justin Shaw and
Geordie Greig. Associated News keeps the remaining 24 percent.
In November 2009, it was announced that the London Evening Standard would drop its midday "News
Extra" edition from 4 January 2010 with the first edition being the West End Final, available from
2 pm.[11] One edition of 600,000 copies would be printed starting at 12:30 pm, ending 3 am starts for
journalists and the previous deadline of 9 am for the first edition; twenty people were expected to lose
their jobs as a result.[11]

Previously there were three editions each weekday, excluding Bank holidays. The first, "News Extra",
went to print at 10:00 am and was available around 11 am in central London, slightly later in more
outlying areas (such as Kent). A second edition, "West End Final", went to print at 3 pm, and the "Late
Night Final" went to print at 5 pm and was available in the central area from about 6 pm. There was often
considerable variation between the editions, particularly with the front-page lead and following few
pages, including the Londoner's Diary, though features and reviews stayed the same.[12] In January 2010,
circulation was increased to 900,000.[13]

May 2009 relaunch

In May 2009, the newspaper launched a series of poster ads, each
of which prominently featured the word "Sorry" in the paper's
then-masthead font. These ads offered various apologies for past
editorial approaches, such as "Sorry for losing touch".[14] None
of the posters mentioned the Evening Standard by name, although
they featured the paper's Eros logo. Ex-editor Veronica Wadley
criticised the "Pravda-style" campaign saying it humiliated the
paper's staff and insulted its readers.[15] The campaign was
designed by McCann Erickson. Also in May 2009 the paper London Evening Standard
relaunched as the London Evening Standard with a new layout dispensers at Sainsbury's
and masthead, marking the occasion by giving away 650,000 free supermarket, 2017
copies on the day,[16] and refreshed its sports coverage.[17]

October 2009: freesheet

After a long history of paid circulation, on 12 October 2009 the Standard became a free newspaper,[3][18]
with free circulation of 700,000, limited to central London. In February 2010, a paid-for circulation
version became available in suburban areas of London for 20p (although many places sell it for
50p).[19][20] The newspaper won the Media Brand of the Year and the Grand Prix Gold awards at the
Media Week awards in October 2010. The judges said, "[the Standard has] quite simply ... stunned the
market. Not just for the act of going free, but because editorial quality has been maintained, circulation
has almost trebled and advertisers have responded favourably. Here is a media brand restored to
health."[21] The Standard also won the daily newspaper of the year award at the London Press Club Press
Awards in May 2011.[22]

May 2010: mobile application

The Evening Standard launched a mobile app with US app developer Handmark in May 2010.[23] The
range of apps was updated in 2015.[24]

March 2018: redesign

In March 2018, editor George Osborne initiated a redesign of the paper, which featured a dropping of the
'London' from the paper's title in a signal of the paper's ambition to have greater national and
international influence.[25] The paper also introduced more colourful "sign-posting" for different sections
such as news, comment and business, as it was noted by Osborne that it had not been "easy" to find them
inside the paper previously.[25] The masthead was also redesigned with a new font, and emojis were
added to the paper's five-day weather forecast.[26]

May 2018: financial sponsorship

In May 2018, James Cusick of openDemocracy alleged the newspaper had been providing favourable
news coverage to companies including Uber and Google in exchange for financial sponsorship.[27][28]

2019 redundancies
In June 2019, the Evening Standard announced job cuts.[29]

Editorial style
The newspaper's editor is the former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who replaced Sarah
Sands. Ms. Sands replaced Geordie Greig following his departure to The Mail on Sunday in March
2012.[30] Veronica Wadley was the newspaper's editor between 2002 and 2009.[31] Max Hastings was
editor from 1996 until he retired in 2002.

The London Evening Standard, although a regional newspaper, does cover national and international
news, though with an emphasis on London-centred news (especially in its features pages), covering
building developments, property prices, traffic schemes, politics, the congestion charge and, in the
Londoner's Diary page, gossip on the social scene. It also occasionally runs campaigns on local issues
that national newspapers do not cover in detail.

It has a tradition of providing arts coverage. Its best known former art critic, Brian Sewell, was known
for his acerbic view of conceptual art, Britart and the Turner Prize[32] and his views attracted controversy
and criticism in the art world.[33] He has been described as "Britain's most famous and controversial art
critic".[34]

2008 London mayoral election

During the 2008 London mayoral election the newspaper – and particularly its correspondent Andrew
Gilligan – published articles in support of the Conservative candidate, Boris Johnson, including frequent
front-page headlines condemning Ken Livingstone. This included the headline "Suicide bomb backer
runs Ken's campaign".[35]

2010 general election

On 5 May 2010, the newspaper stated in an editorial that, having supported Labour under Tony Blair, the
newspaper would be supporting David Cameron and the Conservatives in the General Election, saying
that "the Conservatives are ready for power: they look like a government in waiting."[36]

2015 general election

On 5 May 2015, an editorial stated that the newspaper would again be supporting David Cameron and
the Conservatives in the 2015 General Election, saying that the Conservatives have "shown themselves to
be good for London." The newspaper did however also claim "there may be good tactical reasons to vote
Liberal Democrat."[37]

2016 London mayoral election

A study conducted by the Media Reform Coalition (MRC) and Goldsmiths University of London argued
that, in the 2016 elections for the new Mayor of London, the London Evening Standard was the
"mouthpiece of the Conservative Party", according to MRC chair Justin Schlosberg. There were almost
twice as many positive headlines about the Conservative candidate, Zac Goldsmith, as for his Labour
rival, Sadiq Khan, with stories exhibiting the strongest bias against Khan also being the most prominent.
13 out of 15 official press releases from the Goldsmith campaign in the two months to 12 April were
published as news stories in the paper, "reproducing headlines from the news release virtually verbatim",
according to the study.[38]

2019 Conservative leadership election

During the 2019 Conservative leadership election the Evening Standard endorsed Boris Johnson.[39]

Freesheet and supplements

On 14 December 2004, Associated Newspapers launched a
Monday–Friday freesheet edition of the Evening Standard called
Standard Lite to help boost circulation. This had 48 pages, compared
with about 80 in the main paper, which also had a supplement on
most days.[40]

In August 2006, the freesheet was relaunched as London Lite. It was

designed to be especially attractive to younger female readers and
featured a wide range of lifestyle articles, but less news and business The Evening Standard has a fleet
news than the main paper. It was initially only available between of delivery vans painted in a
11.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. at Evening Standard vendors and in the distinctive orange and white
livery.
central area, but later became available in the evening from its street
distributors.[41] With the sale of the Evening Standard, but not the
London Lite, to Alexander Lebedev on 21 January 2009, the ownership links between the Standard and
the Lite were broken.[42]

On Fridays, the newspaper includes a free glossy lifestyle magazine, ES (launched as the Evening
Standard Magazine in 2009[43]), and the circulation was increased to 350,000 in September 2014. This
has moved from more general articles to concentrate on glamour, with features on the rich, powerful and
famous. On Wednesdays, selected areas offer a free copy of the Homes & Property supplement, edited by
Janice Morley, which includes London property listings as well as articles from lifestyle journalists
including Barbara Chandler, Katie Law and Alison Cork.

An entertainment guide supplement Metro Life (previously called Hot Tickets) was launched in
September 2002. This was a what's-on guide with listings of cinemas and theatres in and around London,
and was given away on Thursdays. It was discontinued on 1 September 2005.
The paper also supplies occasional CDs and DVDs for promotions. It also gives Londoners a chance to
win exclusive tickets to film premieres and sports tournament tickets, such as the Wimbledon Ladies
Singles Final.

Website
The newspaper's This Is London website carries some of the stories from the Evening Standard and
promotions, reviews and competitions. It also includes a number of blogs by Evening Standard writers,
such as restaurant critic Charles Campion, theatre critic Kieron Quirke and music critic David Smyth. A
separate website contains images of each page of the print edition (two versions) and supplements.[44]

Editors
1827: Stanley Lees Giffard 1937: Reginald John Tanner Thompson
1846: Robert Knox 1938: Frank Owen
1857: Thomas Hamber (The 1942: Michael Foot
Standard)[45] 1943: Sydney Elliott
1860: Charles Williams (Evening 1945: Bert Gunn
Standard)[45] 1952: Percy Elland
1863: Thomas Hamber (and Evening 1959: Charles Wintour
Standard)[45] 1976: Simon Jenkins
1870: James Johnstone Jr. and John 1978: Charles Wintour
1980: Louis Kirby
Gorst[45]
1986: John Leese
1876: W. H. Mudford[46] 1991: Paul Dacre
1899: Byron Curtis
1992: Stewart Steven
1906: William Woodward
1996: Max Hastings
1912: James A. Kilpatrick 2002: Veronica Wadley
1914: D. M. Sutherland
2009: Geordie Greig
1916: Arthur Mann 2012: Sarah Sands
1920: D. Phillips
2017: George Osborne
1923: E. Raymond Thompson
1928: George Gilliat
1933: Percy Cudlipp

References
1. Stephen Brook; Mark Sweney (21 January 2009). "Alexander Lebedev's Evening Standard
takeover: Dacre announces sale to staff" (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jan/21/
alexander-lebedev-london-evening-standard1). The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
2. "Evening Standard - Data - ABC | Audit Bureau of Circulations" (https://www.abc.org.uk/pro
duct/5341). www.abc.org.uk.
3. "London's 'Evening Standard' To Become Free Paper" (https://web.archive.org/web/200910
04161745/http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_i
d=1004018125). Editor & Publisher. 2 October 2009. Archived from the original (http://www.
editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004018125) on 4
October 2009.
4. Stephen Brook (14 January 2009). "A history of the London Evening Standard: seeing off
rivals for 181 years" (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jan/14/history-london-evenin
g-standard). The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
5. Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition; Cambridge University Press, 1911, Vol. XIX,
Mun to Oddfellows; Article on Newspapers, pp.544–581.
 6. Griffiths, Dennis (1992). The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992 (illustrated ed.).
London & Basingstoke: Macmillan. p. 234. ISBN 9780333529843.
7. Griffiths, Encyclopedia of the British Press, p. 324
8. Griffiths, Encyclopedia of the British Press, p.188
9. "Where are they now, those Saturday People?" (https://47shoelane.wordpress.com/gallerie
s/terriboules). 47shoelane. 1 November 2015.
10. "Ex-KGB Spy Buys UK Paper for £1" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7841891.stm). BBC
News. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
11. Mark Sweney (26 November 2009). "London Evening Standard Drops Noon Edition and
Cuts Jobs" (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/nov/26/london-evening-standard-drop
s-edition). The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
12. "ESI Media (Independent, Standard)"
(http://www.magforum.com/papers/nationals.htm#eve). MagForum. Retrieved 24 November
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13. John Reynolds (10 July 2013). "London Evening Standard owner plots circulation increase
to 900,000 copies" (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jul/10/london-evening-standar
d-plan-circulation-increase). The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
14. Roy Greenslade (4 May 2009). "Evening Standard Launches Ad Campaign To Say Sorry to
Londoners" (https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2009/may/04/london-evening-
standard-alexander-lebedev). Greenslade Blog. Retrieved 4 August 2012 – via The
Guardian.
15. "Ex-Editor Wadley Criticises Standard's 'Pravda-Style' Relaunch" (http://www.brandrepublic.
com/News/904743/Ex-editor-Wadley-criticises-Standards-Pravda-style-relaunch/). Brand
Republic. 11 May 2009.
16. Stephen Brook (11 May 2009). "London Evening Standard Relaunch – Who's Sorry Now?"
(https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2009/may/11/london-evening-standard-lo
cal-newspapers). Organ Grinder Blog. Retrieved 4 August 2012 – via The Guardian.
17. Stephen Brook (27 May 2009). "London Evening Standard Revamps Sport Pages" (https://
www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/27/london-evening-standard-pressandpublishing).
The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
18. "Evening Standard To Be Free Paper" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8286660.stm).
BBC News. 2 October 2009.
19. Steve Busfield (15 February 2010). "How Much for a 'Free' London Evening Standard? 50p
in Some Shops" (https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2010/feb/15/london-eveni
ng-standard-free-not). Greenslade Blog. Retrieved 4 August 2012 – via The Guardian.
20. "Evening Standard No Longer Free In Some Parts" (https://londonist.com/2010/02/evening_
standard_no_longer_free_in). Londonist. 15 February 2010.
21. " 'Evening Standard' Wins Top Awards" (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/e
vening-standard-wins-top-awards-2120509.html). The Independent. ESI Media. 30 October
2010. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
22. "Evening Standard Wins Newspaper of the Year Award" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120
112115604/http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=47098).
Press Gazette. 15 May 2011. Archived from the original (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/stor
y.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=47098) on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
23. Jason Deans (24 April 2010). "London Evening Standard launches smartphone app" (http
s://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/may/24/london-evening-standard-smartphone-app).
The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
24. Jessie Sampson (15 January 2015). "Evening Standard launches new app range" (https://w
ww.newsworks.org.uk/News-and-Opinion/evening-standard-launches-new-app-range).
Newsworks. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
25. Ian Burrell (12 March 2018). "George Osborne on his Evening Standard revamp and
dropping London from its masthead" (https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2018/03/12/george-
osborne-his-evening-standard-revamp-and-dropping-london-its-masthead). The Drum.
Retrieved 27 March 2018.
26. Freddy Mayhew (12 March 2018). "Evening Standard redesign: Weather 'poo' emojis, no
more 'London' in masthead and pink business pages" (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/eveni
ng-standard-redesign-weather-poo-emojis-no-more-london-in-masthead-and-pink-business-
pages/). PressGazette.co.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
27. James Cusick (30 May 2018). "George Osborne's London Evening Standard sells its
editorial independence to Uber, Google and others – for £3 million" (https://www.opendemoc
racy.net/uk/james-cusick/george-osborne-s-london-evening-standard-promises-positive-ne
ws-coverage-to-uber-goo). openDemocracy.
28. Richard Sambrook (1 June 2018). "Fake news week: three stories that reveal the extreme
pressure journalism is now under" (https://theconversation.com/fake-news-week-three-stori
es-that-reveal-the-extreme-pressure-journalism-is-now-under-97568). The Conversation.
29. https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/evening-standard-theatre-reviewers-axed-cost-cutting/
30. Dan Sabbagh (30 March 2012). "Sarah Sands Is New Editor of London Evening Standard"
(https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/mar/30/sarah-sands-editor-evening-standard).
The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
31. Veronica Wadley (11 May 2009). "Ex-Evening Standard Editor Veronica Wadley's Verdict on
Paper's New Regime" (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/11/veronica-wadley-l
ondon-evening-standard). The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
32. "Tate's collections 'wretched', says Brian Sewell" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/cultur
enews/6672066/Tates-collections-wretched-says-Brian-Sewell.html). The Daily Telegraph.
30 November 2009.
33. Jonathan Jones (20 September 2015). "Brian Sewell's pungent views got people arguing –
that's what matters" (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/sep/20/brian-sewells-punge
nt-views-got-people-arguing-thats-what-matters). The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November
2018.
34. Rachel Cooke (13 November 2005). "We pee on things and call it art" (https://www.theguard
ian.com/artanddesign/2005/nov/13/art). The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
35. Michael White (16 April 2008). "As Polls Move Towards Ken, Evening Standard Seems
Rattled" (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2008/apr/16/michaelwhitespoliticalblog1
31). The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
36. "David Cameron: The Prime Minister That London Now Needs" (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20100507001205/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23830737-david-cameron
-the-prime-minister-that-london-now-needs.do). London Evening Standard. 5 May 2010.
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(https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/apr/27/london-evening-standard-tory-mouthpiece
-zac-goldsmith). The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
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40. Claire Cozens (10 December 2004). "Media buyers voice fears over 'downmarket' free
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External links
Evening Standard (https://www.standard.co.uk/) stories from the Evening Standard
London Evening Standard E-edition (http://standardonline.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/vie
wer.aspx) (requires registration to view)
London Evening Standard | Media | The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/media/lond
on-evening-standard)

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