Type Weekly newspaper Language English | Format Broadsheet | |
Owner(s) Robert Maxwell (1990–91)
Barclay Brothers (1992–98) Launched 11 May 1990 (1990-05-11) Ceased publication 14 December 1998 (1998-12-14) | ||
The European, billed as "Europe's first national newspaper", was a British weekly newspaper founded by Robert Maxwell. It lasted from 11 May 1990 until December 1998.
Contents
Time magazine (15 May 1990) reported that Maxwell originally envisioned a daily with a circulation of 650,000, but by the launch date plans had been cut down to a more realistic weekly with circulation of 225,000. In reality, the circulation peaked at 180,000, over half of which was British.
Following Maxwell's death, the Barclay brothers bought the newspaper in 1992, investing an estimated $110 million and in 1996 transforming it into a high-end tabloid format oriented at the business community edited by Andrew Neil.
In 1996, the London-based European had a staff of 70 in London, 3 in Brussels, 1 in Paris, 1 in Berlin, 1 in Moscow, as well as a network of 100 freelance writers throughout Europe.
History
Maxwell founded the paper in the fervor which immediately followed the destruction of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the Iron Curtain - The European's name is a reflection of the feelings of pan-European unity which were brought on by the historic changes, an ideal which Maxwell wholeheartedly supported. Among its innovations was a weekly short fiction contribution from published and previously unpublished writers.