Daily Record

About Daily Record

The Daily Record is Scotland's national tabloid newspaper, published in Glasgow and read across the country. Founded in 1895, it has spent 130 years as a central voice in Scottish public life — a campaigning, Labour-supporting paper with what its own editors describe as a strong social conscience and a commitment to equality, justice and fairness. Owned by Reach plc and published alongside its sister title the Sunday Mail, the Record combines a Monday-to-Saturday print edition with a website at dailyrecord.co.uk that is updated hourly, seven days a week, and which its publisher describes as the biggest news site in Scotland. From its pioneering role in colour printing to its modern digital-first newsroom, the Record's history is the story of Scottish popular journalism itself.

History and Founding

The Daily Record's history begins in 1895. In 1901 the paper was combined with the North British Daily Mail and renamed the Daily Record and Mail, before the name later reverted to the Daily Record. In 1922 the newspaper was bought for £1 million by Lord Kemsley, the Welsh colliery owner and newspaper magnate, beginning a new era in its development.

The Record was at the forefront of technological advances in publishing throughout the twentieth century. On 7 October 1936 it printed Britain's first colour advertisement, depicting Dewar's White Label whisky. In 1971 it became the first European daily newspaper to be produced in full run-of-paper colour. It was also the first British newspaper to introduce computerised page make-up technology, putting it ahead of its competitors in the computerisation of Fleet Street-era production. In 1999 the newspaper was purchased by Trinity Mirror — now known as Reach plc — which remains its owner today.

Politically, the Record traditionally supported the conservative Unionist Party until the general election of 1964, when it switched its backing to the Labour Party — a relationship that has defined its identity ever since. The paper has been a consistent opponent of Scottish independence, publishing front-page editorials attacking the Scottish National Party during election campaigns, and in 2007 it donated £10,000 to the Labour Party.

Mission and Coverage Focus

The Daily Record covers UK news and sport with a Scottish focus, published under the masthead slogan "Scotland's Champion". Its core beats are Scottish politics — particularly the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood and Westminster politics as they affect Scotland — crime and the courts, health, education, the cost of living, and sport, with intensive coverage of Celtic and Rangers, the Scottish national teams, and the wider Scottish game. Showbusiness, lifestyle and consumer journalism complete a populist tabloid mix.

The paper's mission, as stated in its editor's communications, is a commitment to people in society who lack a powerful voice, expressed through campaigning journalism on the issues that matter most to ordinary Scots. Its close kinship with the UK-wide Daily Mirror, also owned by Reach, means the biggest British stories appear in both publications, while the Record's Scottish newsroom provides the distinctively Scottish lens.

Ownership and Funding

The Daily Record is owned by Reach plc, Britain's largest newspaper, magazine and digital publisher. Its sister title is the Sunday Mail, and both are published by Reach's Media Scotland operation from Glasgow. Reach's portfolio also includes the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star and dozens of regional titles. The Record is funded through print sales, print and digital advertising, and the group's growing digital reader-revenue products.

The paper's print circulation was recorded at 38,854 in September 2025 — a fraction of its twentieth-century peak, but still among the largest of any Scottish daily. In 2026 Reach proposed closing its Saltire print site at Cardonald in Glasgow — the purpose-built plant opened in 1994 by Tony Blair to mark the Record's centenary — with around 100 jobs at risk, planning to move printing to its site in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and to DC Thomson's plant in Dundee for northern editions.

Editorial Approach

The Record operates as a digital-first newsroom, with dailyrecord.co.uk updated on an hourly basis seven days a week. Its journalists cover breaking news, politics, courts, investigations and sport for the website first, with the print edition curated from the day's digital output alongside exclusive reporting. The paper's editorial approach is campaigning and interventionist: it seeks not merely to report Scotland's problems but to force action on them.

The tone is populist tabloid — direct, emotional and combative — pitched to a mass working and middle-class Scottish readership. The paper's social media presence is large and active, and its journalists are prominent figures in Scottish public debate. Neil McIntosh was announced as the paper's editor in August 2025, succeeding a Scottish editorial leadership that had overseen the title's digital transformation.

Audience and Reach

The Daily Record's website is described by Reach as the biggest news site in Scotland, and its Media Scotland operation has also built Edinburgh Live and Glasgow Live into the most-read local news sites in the country. The print edition's circulation of 38,854 (September 2025) reflects the long-term decline of print, but the brand's total digital audience runs into the millions of monthly readers across Scotland and the Scottish diaspora.

The paper's readership is concentrated in the central belt — Glasgow, Edinburgh, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Fife — but its political and sporting coverage gives it a genuinely national Scottish footprint. Its audience is loyal and highly engaged, particularly around football, politics and campaigning issues.

Digital Innovation

The Record's digital transformation has been one of the most ambitious in Scottish media. The website's hourly updating cycle, live blogs for breaking news, court cases and football matches, video content, newsletters and a mobile app have made it the country's leading digital news brand. Its journalists work in a digital-first newsroom where online publishing, social media and search optimisation are the primary disciplines.

The Media Scotland operation has extended the Record's digital expertise into the Live network, building Glasgow Live and Edinburgh Live into dominant local sites. The group has also invested in digital subscriptions and reader-revenue products as part of Reach's wider strategy of building closer, better-known relationships with its audiences.

Notable Coverage

The Record's campaigning journalism has repeatedly shaped Scottish public life. Its sustained investigation into Scotland's drug-deaths crisis — the worst in Europe — played what its own editors describe as a central role in forcing the issue into the public eye and onto the political agenda. Its more recent work on youth violence, on buffer zones around health clinics, and on the banning of disposable vapes across the UK has been credited with contributing to concrete policy change.

The paper's news operation has broken major stories including the sexual assault allegations against former first minister Alex Salmond, and its political coverage chronicled the fall of the Conservative government and the shifting landscape of Scottish politics. Its sports coverage of Celtic and Rangers, and of the Scotland national teams, is among the most-read football journalism in Britain.

Community Impact

The Record's community impact is institutionalised in the Pride of Scotland awards, which the paper has established as a major fixture on the Scottish events calendar, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of ordinary Scots — fundraisers, carers, emergency workers, young heroes and community champions. The paper's appeals and campaigns have raised significant sums for Scottish charities, and its Christmas and festive appeals are long-standing traditions.

Beyond formal campaigns, the Record functions as a national forum for Scottish working-class voices, its letters pages, phone-ins and social media channels providing a platform for readers to debate the issues of the day. In a country where the constitutional question dominates politics, the paper's pro-union, pro-Labour stance makes it a key participant in Scotland's democratic conversation.

Awards and Recognition

The Daily Record's journalism has been recognised with numerous Scottish and UK press awards over its long history, including honours for campaigning journalism, news reporting, sports coverage and digital innovation. Its pioneering role in print technology — Britain's first colour advertisement, Europe's first full-colour daily, Britain's first computerised page make-up — earned it a place in the history of newspaper production. The Pride of Scotland awards, while a celebration of readers rather than journalists, have become one of the most prestigious events in the Scottish calendar.

Recent Developments

Recent years have brought significant change. The appointment of Neil McIntosh as editor in August 2025 marked a new chapter for the title, following the move of the previous Scottish editor-in-chief to a group role overseeing print production at Reach's national titles. The proposed closure of the Saltire print plant at Cardonald in 2026 — with printing moving to Oldham and Dundee — signals the company's accelerating shift towards a digital future, in chief executive Piers North's words a strategy rooted in the belief that "our future is firmly rooted in digital". With Scotland's politics in flux, its drug-deaths crisis unresolved and its football as passionate as ever, the Daily Record's 130-year mission to champion its readers shows no sign of ending.