ABSTRACT
The traditional local press in the UK is a phenomenon of the late nineteenth century, and is in part one of the outcomes of the process which culminated in the abolition of the ‘taxes on knowledge’ in the 1850s and 1860s. The focus of much that has been written about this period has been on the way in which the ending of the Stamp Duty, Paper Tax, Advertising Duty and compulsory security deposit led to the development of a mass-production and entertainment-based national press. 1 This development was exemplified by the so-called Northcliffe revolution which gave rise to the Daily Mail and was closely followed by the launching of other generally right-wing, sub-literate, populist news organs.
