| abstract | - Despite being substandard in all aspects, the Daily Express still pulls in a daily circulation of just under 500,000. It considers itself a rival of the Daily Mail (which sells over three times more), which it imitates in layout and contents. Recently, the front pages have gotten even more outlandish to boost its sales and close the circulation gap. It is wholly owned by Richard Desmond, who owns extremely respectable magazines such as Big Ones and Asian Babes, as well as a successful television channel called Television X. Since Desmond's takeover in 2000, it has been involved in many controversies, libel payouts, strikes, cost cuttings and dodgy advertising. It is about as believable as its stablemate the Daily Star, though readers of the latter need not be literate but can merely gaze at the photos. Politically, the Daily Express has always supported the Conservative Party, except for a short period during the premiership of Tony Blair when it supported Labour. This decision alienated many readers. Younger ones moved to other Tory papers, while the remainder moved to coffins. The Daily Express now aligns with the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and has supported party leader Nigel Farage to replace David Cameron as Prime Minister of Great Britain — backdating this backing to take effect around 1950.
|
