History
Today, with the American newspaper USA Today as inspiration, launched on Tuesday, 4 March 1986, with the front page headline, "Second Spy Inside GCHQ". At 18 pence, it was a middle-market tabloid, a rival to the long-established Daily Mail and Daily Express. It pioneered computer photosetting and full-colour offset printing at a time when national newspapers were still using Linotype machines and letterpress. The colour was initially crude, produced on equipment which had no facility for colour proofing, so the first view of the colour was on the finished product. However, it forced the conversion of all UK national newspapers to electronic production and colour printing. The newspaper's motto, hung in the newsroom, was "propa truth, not propaganda".
Launched by regional newspaper entrepreneur Eddy Shah, it was bought by Tiny Rowland's Lonrho within four months. (Shah would launch the short-lived, unsuccessful national tabloid The Post in 1988.) Alastair Campbell was political editor and his partner, Fiona Millar was news editor. The newspaper began a sponsorship of the English Football League at the start of 1986-87, but withdrew after a season. Today was sold to Rupert Murdoch's News International in 1987.
Today ceased on Friday, 17 November 1995, the first long-running national newspaper title to fail since the Daily Sketch in 1971. The last edition's headline was "Goodbye. It's been great to know you", the editorial saying "... Now we are forced into silence by the granite and unforgiving face of the balance sheet...". Its offices are now used by one of News International's other papers, The Sun.
Richard Stott was editor when Today ceased publication; he died in July 2007. Other journalists at the close included Peter Prendergast (city editor), Anne Robinson (columnist), Barry Wigmore (US editor, based in New York), David McMaster (managing editor) and Tony Banks (football correspondent).
Read more about this topic: Today (UK newspaper)
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