Russell of 'The Times'

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Nov 17, 2000

At this stage of our study of the War, we need to bring on William Russell of 'The Times', since much of the graphic detail on the Crimean campaign which so excited public opinion came from his dispatches.

Daily national newspapers were still a fairly recent development, having only gained prestige and circulation during the Napoleonic Wars. This bolstered advertising income, and the introduction of steam printing in 1814 cut production costs and increased threefold printing capacity to publishing deadline times. Road improvements and hence the expansion of coaching services over wider areas simplified distribution. The result was that newspapers made enough money to gain their independence. But the government took fourpence per copy in stamp duty, forcing the retail price up to sevenpence. This made a daily newspaper an expensive luxury in Regency England.

The daily circulation of 'The Times' in 1817 was around 6,500. A dynamic editor Thomas Barnes then built the paper its international reputation as 'The Thunderer' through his crusading coverage of political issues, in particular the Reform Bills. By 1834 the circulation had risen to 10,000 daily. Aided by an expanding railway system, it almost doubled to 18,500 in 1841. Under continued inspiring leadership, now of John Thadeus Delane, it more than doubled again to 40,000 by 1851. The Crimean War prompted another big jump in sales, much of it due to Russell's reports. By 1861 the paper was selling 70,000 copies daily.

Although stamp duty on newspapers was finally abolished in 1855 and the price was reduced to fourpence a copy, daily papers were still out of reach of the labouring class, many of whom would have been unable to read them anyway. This meant that the content was aimed at a readership of upper and middle class Victorians, and the style and length of articles that they expected gave the writer the scope to develop atmosphere and dramatic tension within a detailed framework.

Prior to the Crimean War however, campaign dispatches for the Press had by and large failed to exploit these possibilities, because they had been written by serving officers. This is not to decry any literary talents that some undoubtedly had, but to be fair the constraints and pressures upon them were at best restrictive. Also, transmission time from far-flung combat locations in Canada, India and so on was many weeks - the reports arrived as almost historic comment on stale news. But by 1854 steam propulsion for ships had become commonplace and the electric telegraph had spread across Europe, already as far as Belgrade. It was a fair bet that the link would be extended to the army locations in the war zone in the unlikely event of a lengthy campaign. (Balaclava went on-line in April 1855, much to the chagrin of the local commanders.) The power of public opinion was now acknowledged by governments a good deal more willingly since the revolutions of 1848. This gave an influential newspaper like 'The Times' the clout to achieve a high priority in the competition for transmission facilities. All these reasons made it feasible to send a professional journalist along with the armies. And being feasible in a competitive field straightway meant it became essential.

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