London Times (Caroline Era)

The Times, known internationally as the London Times, is one of the foremost newspapers of the English-speaking world. After its purchase by Rupert Murdoch during the Thatcher years, it became the first British newspaper to begin publishing in electronic form in the first year of the Caroline Era, leading to a vicious dispute with the print unions which was probably a factor in the Labour victory of 1984. At first, the print edition continued to be published due to the lack of illustrations in the online version, but with the advent of the Sinclair Ambassador II in the following year, the format was revamped and illustrations were introduced in the electronic version, though the format was tabloid due to printing restrictions. Over the next five years, the popularity of the online edition grew and that of the print edition fell in roughly equal measure until, in 1990, the Times became the last national print newspaper to close down.