The Illustrated Police News
Encyclopedia
The Illustrated Police News was a weekly illustrated newspaper
which was one of the earliest British tabloids. It featured sensational and melodrama
tic reports and illustrations of murder
s and hangings and was a direct descendant of the execution broadsheets of the 18th century.
First published in 1864, The Illustrated Police News ended publication in 1938. It was inspired by The Illustrated London News which had been launched in 1842 and revealed that newspapers with illustrations could achieve very high sales.
Its standards of illustration and tone were reminiscent of the old Newgate Calendar and the popular "Penny dreadful
s", and it gained a reputation for sensationalism during the Jack the Ripper
murders of 1888.
Around the turn of the 20th century The Illustrated Police News ran numerous articles dealing with the "alien immigration question" that promoted xenophobic
attitudes and paranoia amongs its mostly working-class readership.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
which was one of the earliest British tabloids. It featured sensational and melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
tic reports and illustrations of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s and hangings and was a direct descendant of the execution broadsheets of the 18th century.
First published in 1864, The Illustrated Police News ended publication in 1938. It was inspired by The Illustrated London News which had been launched in 1842 and revealed that newspapers with illustrations could achieve very high sales.
Its standards of illustration and tone were reminiscent of the old Newgate Calendar and the popular "Penny dreadful
Penny Dreadful
A penny dreadful was a type of British fiction publication in the 19th century that usually featured lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a number of weeks, each part costing an penny...
s", and it gained a reputation for sensationalism during the Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
murders of 1888.
Around the turn of the 20th century The Illustrated Police News ran numerous articles dealing with the "alien immigration question" that promoted xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
attitudes and paranoia amongs its mostly working-class readership.