Red top
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Collectively called the "tabloid press", tabloid newspapers in Britain tend to be simply and sensationally written, and to give more prominence than broadsheets to celebrities, sports, crime stories and even hoaxes; they also more readily take a political position (either left-wing or right-wing) on news stories, ridiculing politicians, demanding resignations and predicting election results. The term "red tops" [1] refers to tabloids with red nameplates, such as The Sun, the Daily Star, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Sport,[2] and distinguishes them from the Daily Express and Daily Mail. Red top newspapers are usually simpler in writing style, dominated by pictures, and directed at the more sensational end of the market.
A recent British survey alleged "journalists on newspapers such as The Sun, Mirror or Daily Star" to be considerably less trustworthy than both politicians and estate agents, with fewer than 10% of people trusting them to reliably report the truth.
In the United Kingdom, "red tops" are newspapers that have a red masthead, and which share an emphasis on entertainment news, celebrities, sports and political scandals. The red tops are all printed in the tabloid format, and include The Sun, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Star, along with various local and regional newspapers.
The term distinguishes the traditional, sensationalist tabloids from former broadsheet newspapers, such as middle-market newspapers the Daily Mail and Daily Express, and more recent converts The Times and The Independent, who in recent years have switched to the tabloid or compact format, whilst maintaining their emphasis on political and financial news and commentary.