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| Margaret Thatcher's death: what the papers said | Margaret Thatcher's death: what the papers said |
| (6 months later) | |
| In the hours after Margaret Thatcher's death the chosen style for most newspapers on Tuesday's front page coverage was straightforward – sombre and respectful – with only the Sun opting to break ranks with its brash splash "Maggie Dead in Bed at Ritz". | In the hours after Margaret Thatcher's death the chosen style for most newspapers on Tuesday's front page coverage was straightforward – sombre and respectful – with only the Sun opting to break ranks with its brash splash "Maggie Dead in Bed at Ritz". |
| The common approach across Fleet Street was to acknowledge Thatcher as a formidable and divisive politician whose standing was recognised with souvenir-style editions. | The common approach across Fleet Street was to acknowledge Thatcher as a formidable and divisive politician whose standing was recognised with souvenir-style editions. |
| Yet the Sun, a newspaper that felt confident during Thatcher's premiership to use controversial and tasteless headlines such as "Gotcha" and "Stick It Up Your Junta" during the Falkland Islands conflict, may be regarded has having backfired with its latest headline. | Yet the Sun, a newspaper that felt confident during Thatcher's premiership to use controversial and tasteless headlines such as "Gotcha" and "Stick It Up Your Junta" during the Falkland Islands conflict, may be regarded has having backfired with its latest headline. |
| The Sun's splash, which could be seen to imply there is some kind of mystery behind Thatcher's passing, became an immediate talking point among the Twitterati with Robbie Collin, the Telegraph's film critic, tweeting that he had expected a more colourful pun such as "Thatch All Folks". | The Sun's splash, which could be seen to imply there is some kind of mystery behind Thatcher's passing, became an immediate talking point among the Twitterati with Robbie Collin, the Telegraph's film critic, tweeting that he had expected a more colourful pun such as "Thatch All Folks". |
| The Daily Mirror, the paper most likely to have been hostile in its coverage of Thatcher's demise, played it straight with the splash headline "The woman who divided a nation", while the Daily Star showed unusual reverence, declaring "The Iron Lady Bows Out". | The Daily Mirror, the paper most likely to have been hostile in its coverage of Thatcher's demise, played it straight with the splash headline "The woman who divided a nation", while the Daily Star showed unusual reverence, declaring "The Iron Lady Bows Out". |
| Thatcher's passing also provided a renewed showcase for heavyweight names, some of whom are now deceased, such as the Guardian's Hugo Young and the Telegraph's Bill Deedes. | Thatcher's passing also provided a renewed showcase for heavyweight names, some of whom are now deceased, such as the Guardian's Hugo Young and the Telegraph's Bill Deedes. |
| While Thatcher's ailing health meant that newspapers would have obituary packages ready to go, there was also opportunity to publish fresh insights by those who were closest to the former prime minister. | While Thatcher's ailing health meant that newspapers would have obituary packages ready to go, there was also opportunity to publish fresh insights by those who were closest to the former prime minister. |
| Lord Powell, Thatcher's former foreign policy adviser who spent an hour with her on the night before she died, recalled in the Daily Mail how her arrival at No 10 was "akin to a tornado". | Lord Powell, Thatcher's former foreign policy adviser who spent an hour with her on the night before she died, recalled in the Daily Mail how her arrival at No 10 was "akin to a tornado". |
| Cynthia Crawford, Thatcher's personal assistant, gave a fascinating insight into her former boss on Jon Snow's documentary about the Iron Lady on Monday evening. | Cynthia Crawford, Thatcher's personal assistant, gave a fascinating insight into her former boss on Jon Snow's documentary about the Iron Lady on Monday evening. |
| She recalled how they were ferried to a police hostel on the night of the 1984 Brighton bombing and given a twin room. At about 3.30am Thatcher turned to her and said before they attempted to get an hour's sleep they should kneel and pray. | She recalled how they were ferried to a police hostel on the night of the 1984 Brighton bombing and given a twin room. At about 3.30am Thatcher turned to her and said before they attempted to get an hour's sleep they should kneel and pray. |
| In Tuesday's Guardian and the Daily Mail Crawford recounted that story and depicted a softer side of the woman whose "humour was dry to the point of aridity" but who was "great fun" among friends. | In Tuesday's Guardian and the Daily Mail Crawford recounted that story and depicted a softer side of the woman whose "humour was dry to the point of aridity" but who was "great fun" among friends. |
| The Mail's 25-page coverage was complemented by a 12-page souvenir picture pullout with some startling photographs including one of her in an old-fashioned nanny-style outfit in 1950 during her first bid to become MP for Dartford. | The Mail's 25-page coverage was complemented by a 12-page souvenir picture pullout with some startling photographs including one of her in an old-fashioned nanny-style outfit in 1950 during her first bid to become MP for Dartford. |
| The Sun's decision to clear just 13 pages in the paper's normal run for the woman to whom it gave unflinching support was also a surprise. The paper's 24-page pullout charted her rise and fall, with a double-page spread of Sun front pages including the "Gotcha" splash following the sinking of the Belgrano in 1982 and the "Stick It up Your Junta" in the weeks before. | The Sun's decision to clear just 13 pages in the paper's normal run for the woman to whom it gave unflinching support was also a surprise. The paper's 24-page pullout charted her rise and fall, with a double-page spread of Sun front pages including the "Gotcha" splash following the sinking of the Belgrano in 1982 and the "Stick It up Your Junta" in the weeks before. |
| The Guardian, a bible for Thatcher critics in the 1980s, also opted for a double-page spread of front pages starting with her election victory in 1979, "a night of broken dreams", contrasting the Sun's "Gotcha" with a 4 May 1982 splash revealing that the Belgrano had sunk "amid fears of 500 deaths". | The Guardian, a bible for Thatcher critics in the 1980s, also opted for a double-page spread of front pages starting with her election victory in 1979, "a night of broken dreams", contrasting the Sun's "Gotcha" with a 4 May 1982 splash revealing that the Belgrano had sunk "amid fears of 500 deaths". |
| It brought back Thatcher biographer Hugo Young's words for a front page portrait that offered criticism as well as praise for her legacy. "I think by far her greatest virtue, in retrospect, is how little she cared if people like her. Britain was battered out of the somnolent conservatism that had held back progress," he noted. | It brought back Thatcher biographer Hugo Young's words for a front page portrait that offered criticism as well as praise for her legacy. "I think by far her greatest virtue, in retrospect, is how little she cared if people like her. Britain was battered out of the somnolent conservatism that had held back progress," he noted. |
| The Guardian's 16-page supplement was packed with memories recounted by figures from the national and international political spectrum including Mikhail Gorbachev (also in the Sun), Tony Benn, Lech Walesa, National Union of Mineworkers ex-national secretary Steve Kemp and Nancy Reagan. | The Guardian's 16-page supplement was packed with memories recounted by figures from the national and international political spectrum including Mikhail Gorbachev (also in the Sun), Tony Benn, Lech Walesa, National Union of Mineworkers ex-national secretary Steve Kemp and Nancy Reagan. |
| The Telegraph and Times cleared 25 pages for comment and analysis with the latter marking her death with a wraparound, a design that worked well for the paper during the London Olympics. | The Telegraph and Times cleared 25 pages for comment and analysis with the latter marking her death with a wraparound, a design that worked well for the paper during the London Olympics. |
| Matthew Parris, the former Tory MP, told Times readers the picture of Thatcher as "vulgarised, or corrupted" by her "growing power" was exaggerated but acknowkledged that she was probably unloved by all but her family. "My guess is that Margaret Thatcher had what EM Forster called 'the undeveloped heart'." | Matthew Parris, the former Tory MP, told Times readers the picture of Thatcher as "vulgarised, or corrupted" by her "growing power" was exaggerated but acknowkledged that she was probably unloved by all but her family. "My guess is that Margaret Thatcher had what EM Forster called 'the undeveloped heart'." |
| The Telegraph opted for the most funereal of all front pages choosing a headstone-style front page with a full length photograph of Thatcher on a black background and the simple headline "Margaret Thatcher 1925-2013". | The Telegraph opted for the most funereal of all front pages choosing a headstone-style front page with a full length photograph of Thatcher on a black background and the simple headline "Margaret Thatcher 1925-2013". |
| Many of Thatcher's former cabinet and colleagues were also wheeled out for comment, including Norman Tebbit (Mail) Bernard Ingham (Times), Edwina Currie (Guardian), Nigel Lawson (Guardian), Jonathan Aitken (Mail), Cecil Parkinson (Telegraph), Lord Bell (Sun), Douglas Hurd (Independent) and Dominic Lawson (Independent). | Many of Thatcher's former cabinet and colleagues were also wheeled out for comment, including Norman Tebbit (Mail) Bernard Ingham (Times), Edwina Currie (Guardian), Nigel Lawson (Guardian), Jonathan Aitken (Mail), Cecil Parkinson (Telegraph), Lord Bell (Sun), Douglas Hurd (Independent) and Dominic Lawson (Independent). |
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