- published: 29 Mar 2011
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The Belfast Telegraph is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Independent News & Media.
It was first published as the Belfast Evening Telegraph on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird. Its first edition cost half a penny and ran to four pages covering the Franco-Prussian war and local news.
Its competitors are The News Letter and The Irish News but the English red tops are also a threat, selling at a cheaper price than the 'Tele'. Ten years ago it was selling more than 100,000 copies.
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the paper still had an average daily circulation of 94,540 between June 2004 and January 2005. But since then sales have fallen steadily year on year, the average sales figure for the first six months of 2009 showing a large drop of 10.5% year on year to 68,024, then to just over 66,000. There was a slight upturn in the first six months of 2010.
The Belfast Telegraph was entirely broadsheet until 19 February 2005, when the Saturday morning edition was introduced and all Saturday editions were converted to compact. The weekday morning "Compact Edition", launched on 22 March 2005, has struggled to replicate the evening newspaper's success. Its editorial content is much more tabloid, with a greater entertainment story count than the evening paper. Much prominence is given to English based sport, and some general features/ columns are shared with the Independent and Irish Independent. The evening edition of the newspaper was originally called the "Sixth Late", and "Sixth Late Tele" was a familiar cry made by vendors in Belfast City Centre in the past.
Coordinates: 54°35′49″N 5°55′48″W / 54.597°N 5.930°W / 54.597; -5.930
Belfast (from Irish: Béal Feirste, meaning "mouth of the shoal") is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the fourteenth largest city in the United Kingdom and second largest on the island of Ireland. It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. The city of Belfast has a population of 267,500 and lies at the heart of the Belfast urban area, which has a population of 579,276. The Larger Urban Zone, as defined by the European Union, has a total population 641,638. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.
Historically, Belfast has been a centre for the Irish linen industry (earning the nickname "Linenopolis"), tobacco production, rope-making and shipbuilding: the city's main shipbuilders, Harland and Wolff, which built the well-known RMS Titanic, propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the biggest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast, if briefly, the biggest city in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century and the city's industrial and economic success was cited by Ulster unionist opponents of Home Rule as a reason why Ireland should shun devolution and later why Ulster in particular would fight to resist it.