Report: The British Are Coming

Two newspapers take aim at America

From The Economist.com

The Daily Mail’s website, Mail Online, has cheerfully flouted online publishing conventions since it was relaunched in 2008. It is only loosely related to the newspaper and has its own staff. Whereas the Daily Mail chronicles supposed assaults on middle-class Britain by illegal immigrants, liberal politicians, germs and the BBC, the website specialises in breezy celebrity gossip. It is packed with pictures of women in bikinis. This is catnip to readers. Mail Online overtook the Huffington Post in worldwide readers earlier this year, and has nearly pipped the New York Times (see chart).

Even though the Guardian’s website has been popular for longer, its recent growth outside Britain is still impressive. American readers, about one-third of total visitors, come to the site mostly for its distinct take on foreign affairs: the Guardian is often critical of Israel. Although not as celebrity-obsessed as the Mail, it has more gossip than many po-faced American newspaper websites. It is also at the digital cutting-edge, with lots of blogging and tweeting.

Both outfits are bulking up in areas likely to appeal to Americans. Mail Online has added reporters in Los Angeles and New York, to keep an eye on domestic celebrities such as the Kardashians and the cast of “Jersey Shore”, a reality television show.

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