What is "tabloid"

Tabloid \Tab"loid\, n. [A table-mark.]

1. A compressed portion of one or more drugs or chemicals, or of food, etc.

2. a newspaper with pages about half the size of a standard-sized newspaper, especially one that has relatively short or condensed articles and a large porortion of pictorial matter.

Tabloid \Tab"loid\ (t[a^]b"loid), a.

1. Compressed or condensed, as into a tabloid; administrated in or as in tabloids, or small condensed bits; as, a tabloid form of imparting information.

2. of or pertaining to a tabloid newspaper or the type of story typically contained in one, such as lurid or sensationalistic stories of scandal, crime, or violence.

1884, Tabloid, "small tablet of medicine," trademark name (by Burroughs, Wellcome and Co.) for compressed or concentrated chemicals and drugs, a hybrid formed from tablet + Greek-derived suffix -oid. By 1898, it was being used figuratively to mean a compressed form or dose of anything, hence tabloid journalism (1901), and newspapers that typified it (1917), so called for having short, condensed news articles and/or for being small in size. Associated originally with Alfred C. Harmsworth, editor and proprietor of the "London Daily Mail."\n\nMr. Harmsworth entered a printing office twenty years ago as office-boy, and today owns thirty periodicals besides The Mail. Upon a friendly challenge from Mr. Pulitzer of The New York World, the English journalist issued the first number of The World for the new century in the ideal form. The size of the page was reduced to four columns and the general make-up was similar in appearance to that of one of the weekly magazines. Current news was presented in condensed and tabulated form, of which the editor says: "The world enters today upon the twentieth or time-saving century. I claim that by my system of condensed or tabloid journalism hundreds of working hours can be saved each year."

["The Twentieth Century Newspaper," in "The Social Gospel," February 1901]

a. 1 In the format of a #Noun. 2 Relating to a tabloid or tabloids. n. 1 (context publishing English) A newspaper having pages half the dimensions of the standard format, especially one that favours stories of a sensational nature over more serious news. 2 (cx medicine dated English) A compressed portion of drugs, chemicals, etc.; a tablet.

1. n. sensationalist journalism [syn: yellow journalism, tab]

2. newspaper with half-size pages [syn: rag, sheet]

Tabloid was one of the earliest information television series aired in Canada. It ran weeknights from 1953 to 1960 after which it was renamed to Seven-O-One.

Tabloid may refer to:

• Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism
• Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size
• Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size
• Tabloid (film), a 2010 documentary by Errol Morris
• Tabloid (TV series), a Canadian television series
• Sopwith Tabloid, an aircraft

A tabloid is a newspaper with compact page size smaller than broadsheet, although there is no standard for the precise dimensions of the tabloid newspaper format. The term tabloid journalism, along with the use of large pictures, tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, celebrity gossip and television. However, some reputable newspapers, such as The Times, are in tabloid format, and this size is used in the United Kingdom by nearly all local newspapers. There, its page dimensions are roughly . In the United States, it is commonly the format employed by alternative newspapers. Some small-format papers which claim a higher standard of journalism refer to themselves as compact newspapers instead.

Larger newspapers, traditionally associated with higher-quality journalism, are often called broadsheets, and this designation often remains in common usage even if the newspaper moves to printing on smaller pages, as many have in recent years. Thus the terms tabloid and broadsheet are, in non-technical usage, today more descriptive of a newspaper's market position than its physical size.

The Berliner format used by many prominent European newspapers is sized between the tabloid and the broadsheet. In a newspaper context, the term Berliner is generally used only to describe size, not to refer to other qualities of the publication.

Tabloid is a 2010 American documentary film directed by Errol Morris. It tells the story of Joyce McKinney, who in 1977 was accused of kidnapping and raping Kirk Anderson, an American Mormon missionary. The incident, known as the Mormon sex in chains case, became a major tabloid story in the United Kingdom and triggered a circulation battle between two popular tabloid newspapers, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express.

The film is based on interviews of McKinney, journalist Peter Tory (1939-2012), and photographer Kent Gavin conducted by Morris. The film makes reference to Mormon culture, such as temple garments.