Editor's Note: This is an example of the Sunday Post article - Which will be sent to all Friends of Anglotopia members every Sunday. It was announced recently that London’s daily newspaper, The Evening Standard, would cease daily publication and change to printing weekly and focus on digital-only delivery. I met this news with considerable sadness as I have very fond memories of the Evening Standard. Another London institution changes beyond recognition.
I first encountered the Evening Standard on my first trip to London in June 2001. I was merely 18 years old, but as a young news junkie, whenever my family traveled anywhere, I always purchased the local newspapers, and I always thought the best way to learn about a place was to read its newspapers. So, on that first trip, when I saw sellers hawking the newspaper outside Tube stations, I snapped up a copy every afternoon I was in London. I believe at the time it cost 30p. And every day, after a long day of sightseeing, I’d sit in my hotel room and read the local news, pretending I was a local, learning everything I could about London.
The fact that London had an evening only newspaper was a curiosity in itself. Where I grew up, in rural Indiana, if you got a newspaper, you got it in the morning. Evening newspapers had long ago disappeared. But there was something romantic about picking up the newspaper at the Tube station when you were going home from work, seeing the words ‘West End Final’ on the cover, and then catching up on all the news that mattered to London. The Tube was always filled with people reading the paper. If they weren’t reading the Standard, they were reading a book. I quite liked that Londoners are such a literate lot.
Like all things in London’s history and culture, the history of the Evening Standard goes back far into time. The history of the Evening Standard newspaper started in 1827, making it one of London's oldest newspapers. It was founded by Charles Baldwin and initially focused on providing evening news to Londoners. Over the years, the Evening Standard has played a significant role in shaping the city's journalism landscape and has been known for its comprehensive coverage of local and international news.
The newspaper has undergone several changes and transformations throughout its long history. It has been through different ownerships and editorial directions, reflecting the evolving nature of the media industry. The Evening Standard has been at the forefront of reporting on key historical events, such as the 7-7 terrorist attacks. It has been a vital source of information for Londoners for nearly two centuries.
With its distinctive "West End Final" edition, the Evening Standard became a recognizable part of London's culture and daily life. It has been renowned for its bold headlines, in-depth reporting, and its unique ability to capture the spirit of London. The Evening Standard Magazine, released in Friday’s edition, was one of London’s most renowned magazines, with many famous British writers getting their start with commissions for the magazine.
Every time I returned to London in the early 2000s, I was always sure to pick up a copy of the Evening Standard when I came across one. It would annoy Mrs Anglotopia to no end that I’d want to spend valuable time on my trip reading the newspaper. But you see, to me, it was an important part of travel, learning everything I could about the place in which I found myself. During the long gaps between trips to London, I read the Evening Standard online so that I could keep up with the London news. It was always a placeholder until I could move to London and get the paper every day on my commute to work. Oh, the weird fantasies of a college student when anything seemed possible.
I would go to considerable lengths to read the Standard; at one point, I would make regular trips to Downtown Chicago and visit the former Europa Books, where they would print me a fresh copy of the day’s newspaper (and you could also buy week-old British newspapers). On every trip to London I’ve taken over the years, one constant has been the Evening Standard, even when it changed owners. Even when they began to give it away for free. To me, London is inseparable from the Evening Standard, so it was with great sadness that I read that they were ceasing the daily print edition.
I never got to pick it up on my daily commute because I never moved to London, despite over 20 years of effort and a few opportunities not taken. Now, it’ll be gone forever. Sure, they’re going to keep a weekly edition, but it’s only a matter of time before that ceases. Then, it’ll just be digital, existing only in the cloud. I’ve downloaded the mobile app so I can still follow London news. But it’s just not the same. Nothing can replace the tactile feel of taking the newspaper from the hands of the newsie and then reading it in your hotel room and washing the ink off your fingers when you are done. The smell of the fresh ink on the cheap paper. The excitement of reading the news London cared about. The joy of seeing ‘what’s on’ in London while you’re there.
I’m in the generation that grew up with the internet and everything going digital, and I spend my entire workday on computers, and I run these websites as publications in the cloud. I love this stuff, but I will still miss newspapers, especially special newspapers you could only get in London. To those who think London never changes, it does all the time. The London I visited at 18 is not the London I visited at 38. And all along the way, the Evening Standard was a constant. No longer. But who knows, with the way things change, maybe the print edition will come back one day.
I’ll hold out hope. Until then, I’ll read London’s news on my phone and dream of returning and maybe, one day, commuting to that big London job I never got.
