A Look At "Britain's Most Influential Newspaper"

Established by The Political Bodies Association in 2010 as “Britain’s most influential newspaper” (Daily Mail), the Daily Mail is currently the second biggest selling daily newspaper after The Sun.

It was first published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe as a newspaper for women (Wikipedia). Its exclusive “Femail” magazine, that contains features especially tailored for a female audience, means its current readership is more than 50% female, 38% of which are over 65 years old (NMA).

It is considered a suburban, conservative newspaper that, according to the Newspaper Marketing Agency (NMA), is most popular with adults in the ABC1C2 category (Upper Middle Class, Middle Class, Lower Middle Class and Skilled Working Class).

The "Stephen Lawrence Case” is said to be historic of the Daily Mail, as on 14^th February 1997 they identified and published the five men who had been arrested in connection with the stabbing. The headline read, “Murderers: The Mail accuses these men of killing. If we are wrong, let them sue us.” 

Lawrence was a black, British teenager who was stabbed to death at a bus stop in South London on the evening of 22^nd April 1993, with the investigation being branded “one of the most important moments in the modern history of Criminal Justice in Britain.” (Macpherson, 1999).

The Macpherson Report (1999) made legal history in Britain. As a judge in the Stephen Lawrence case, Macpherson headed an inquiry examining Metropolitan Police. He concluded that they were “institutionally racist” and “incompetent.” In response, he demanded a reform of The Judicial System to address the issue of Institutional Racism. He also abolished the “Double Jeopardy” rule (Wikipedia) which aims to: “… enable the appeal court to allow a new prosecution after acquittal where fresh evidence is presented.” (The Macpherson Report, 1999). 

Two men suspected of Lawrence’s murder are currently being tried for the crime once more after “new scientific evidence” was revealed. This story featured on the front page of 15/11/11 issue, with the headline “After 18 long years, Doreen Lawrence faces son’s alleged killers in court.”

The Daily Mail has played a big part in this case with its continuous campaign for justice. The press are “the eyes and ears of the public” and by identifying the people arrested on suspicion of Lawrence’s murder as “murderers”, they could have been at risk of being in Contempt of Court (Contempt Of Court Act, 1981). The publication had the media power to prejudice a fair trial and therefore interfere with the course of justice. 

In the most recent trial (the trial of Gary Dobson and David Norris) the judge ruled that the jury ignore all media speculation surrounding the case for fear of it affecting the outcome, branding it all “irrelevant.” (Sky News).