Scoops and free speech make MoS the best-selling Sunday newspaper in Britain...
First mid-market paper to be No 1 since the reign of Queen Victoria
IT’S a moment of newspaper – and social – history. Officially audited figures show that in May, The Mail on Sunday surged past The Sun to become Britain’s biggestselling Sunday newspaper. It’s the first time a mid- market newspaper has been the market leader on a Sunday since Queen Victoria’s reign – a profound cultural shift.
What’s more, the phenomenal global power of Mail Online – visited by 6.5 million Britons every day – means that Mail on Sunday stories are now read by more people in more countries than ever before.
The latest ABC circulation figures show that in May, The Mail on Sunday sold an average of 817,000 copies a week through UK stores – an astonishing performance in a nation paralysed by lockdown, with thousands of shops closed, high streets deserted and supermarket footfall massively down because of social-distancing rules.
That’s 40,000 copies per week up on April at the height of lockdown.
What’s more, unaudited figures from June show how our sales have been climbing back towards normal levels as restrictions ease.
It’s no wonder that readers go out of their way to buy The Mail on Sunday in these turbulent times because it’s a real Sunday newspaper, packed with agenda-setting exclusives – not a déjà vu paper full of stories you’ve already read on the internet.
That’s why in April we were crowned Sunday Newspaper of the Year at the annual industry Press Awards. The citation from the judges read: ‘Leading the way from scoops to sports, this paper had excellent exclusives and input from impressive figures.
‘From the Washington Files leaked secret ambassador cables to the analysis of Prince Andrew’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, scoop after scoop was turned out. Judges coined it the undoubted agenda-setter of the year.’
The Mail on Sunday’s reach is given rocket boosters by Mail Online. Last week Douglas Murray’s brilliant analysis of the disorder involving far- Right and Black Lives Matter protesters got more than a quarter of a million page views online, attracted 2,400 comments and was shared over 3,000 times.
A feature about Meghan Markle’s dilemma over her friendship with Jessica Mulroney had 359,000 page views in 210 different global locations.
The industry data also shows our sister title, the Daily Mail, has become Britain’s biggest-selling daily paper.
In this frightening new era of intolerance, the MoS has become a beacon for those who believe in free speech and who refuse to be cowed by the tyranny of the Twitter mob and hard-Left agitators who believe everyone should be forced to think like them.
As other papers increasingly fear to tackle controversial subjects, our reporters and big-name commentators remain dedicated to uncovering – and speaking – the truth. So if it’s brave, campaigning journalism you want, stick with The Mail on Sunday – the first mid-market newspaper to be No 1 on a Sunday in 130 years!