For God and country: W. T. Stead and the beginnings of the new journalism in Victorian Britain, 1883-1885

Since the late nineteenth century, scholars and historians have attributed the growth of a sensational press in Britain to long-term societal changes such as the rise of capitalism. What has been ignored, however, is the importance of individual initiative, mainly that of W. T. Stead of the Pall Mall Gazette. During the Sudan Crisis of 1883-1885, Stead introduced a new type of journalism to England that combined typographical innovations, such as maps and striking headlines, with a lively literary style. At the root of this new type of reporting were Stead's deep-felt convictions about spreading Christianity, extending the empire, and improving the world through newspapers.