ABSTRACT
A News-Paper, conducted on the true and natural principles of such a publication, ought to be the Register of the times, and faithful recorder of every species of intelligence. Paper duties, stamp duty and the financial pressures to devote sufficient space for profitable advertisements meant that news and features had to be crammed into the smallest available space. The concept of the newspaper as the fourth estate of the realm first took root in Barnes's time. Instead of simply being the mouthpiece of ministerial or opposition groups, as was the case in the eighteenth century, the press, and The Times in particular, was now an independent and powerful fourth estate – the channel between public opinion and the governing institutions. Unlike the dailies, which were only able to survive as a result of their advertising revenue, Sunday papers were able to make a profit from their sales alone.
