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[[Image:Progaff black-white-grey fo.gif|thumb|Gaffer tape]]
'''''The Times''''' is a [[broadsheet]] (although now also available as a [[tabloid]]-size) national daily [[newspaper]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. It is published by [[News International]], a subsidiary of the [[News Corporation]] group, controlled by [[Rupert Murdoch]]. For much of its history it was regarded as without rival, the 'newspaper of record' for Britain and played an influential role in politics and shaping public opinion to foreign events. More recently it has tended to reflect its proprietor's conservative political views.
'''Gaffer tape''' (also, '''gaffer's tape''', '''gaff tape''', '''gaffa tape''', '''gaffing tape''', '''cloth tape''', '''(The) Gaff''', '''Roll of Gaff''') is a strong cotton cloth pressure-sensitive [[adhesive tape]] used in the motion picture, television, stage (music and theater) and audio visual production. The tape is manufactured in many colors, including fluorescent and custom colors, but the most common variety is [[matte (surface)|matte]] [[black]]. This matte finish keeps the tape from reflecting light so the tape blends in with the typical [[stage (theatre)|stage]] floor of a [[theatre]].
The tape is most likely named for the [[gaffer (motion picture industry)|gaffer]], the head of the lighting department on a [[film crew]].
''The Times'' is sometimes referred to by people outside the UK as the London ''Times'' or ''The Times'' of London in order to distinguish it from the many other ''Times'' papers.
Gaffer tape is easily torn by hand so no cutting tools are necessary. The adhesive used is a high quality synthetic rubber{{Fact|date=April 2007}} which leaves little or no residue when removed, in contrast to [[duct tape]]. When cables are taped down on a stage or other surface, either for safety or to keep them out of view of the audience or camera, they are said to be ''gaffed'' or ''gaffered''.
== History ==
A narrow version of gaffer tape, called [[spike (stagecraft)|spike tape]], is used in many colors for stage and theatre floor layout.
''The Times'' was started by John Walter in [[1785]], as ''The Daily Universal Register'', changing its title on [[January 1]], [[1788]], to ''The Times''. John Walter was also the first editor of the paper. He resigned in 1803 handing ownership and editorship to the second John Walter. The first John Walter had already spent sixteen months in Newgate prison for certain libels printed in ''The Times'', but his pioneering efforts to obtain European news, especially from France, helped build the paper's reputation among policy makers and financiers.
White gaffer tape is also used extensively by live sound engineers who place a strip along the bottom of the mixing board allowing them to label the channels used for a particular show.
''The Times'' used contributions from significant figures in the fields of politics, science, literature, and the arts to build its reputation. For much of its early life the profits of ''The Times'' were very large and the competition minimal, and so it could pay far better than its rivals for information or writers.
In 1809 John Stoddart was appointed general editor, replaced in 1817, with Thomas Barnes. Under Barnes and his successor in 1841, John Thaddeus Delane, the influence of ''The Times'' rose to great heights, especially in politics and amongst the City. Peter Fraser and Edward Sterling were two noted hacks and gained for ''The Times'' the pompous nickname 'The Thunderer' (from "We thundered out the other day an article on social and political reform").
== See also==
It was the first newspaper to send special correspondents abroad, and it was the first to send correspondents after particular conflicts. W. H. Russell, its correspondent with the army in the [[Crimean War]] was immensely influential with his dispatches back to England.
*[[Adhesive tape]]
*[[Film crew]]
*[[Best boy]]
*[[Dolly grip]]
[[Category:Stagecraft]]
In other events of the 19th Century ''The Times'' opposed the repeal of the [[Corn Laws]], until the level of the demonstrations convinced it otherwise. During the [[American Civil War]], ''The Times'' represented the view of the wealthy classes, favouring the secessionists, but it was not a supporter of slavery. Its support of individual politicians was very much internally driven and it did not pander to public opinion.
[[Category:Adhesive tape]]
[[de: TheGaffer TimesTape]] ▼John Walter the third had succeeded his father in 1847. Though the Walters were becoming more conservative, the paper continued more or less independent. From the 1850s however ''The Times'' was beginning to suffer from the rise in competition from the penny press - notably ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and the ''[[The Morning Post]]''.
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In 1922 [[John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever|John Astor]], son of Viscount [[William Waldorf Astor]], bought the Times from the Northcliffe family estate. In 1966, members of the [[Astor family]] sold the paper to Canadian publishing magnate, [[Roy Thomson]], and the same year it started printing news on the front page for the first time (previously its front page had featured small advertisements, usually of interest mainly to the moneyed classes in British society). An industrial dispute in [[1979]] left the paper shut down for nearly a year. It was bought by [[Rupert Murdoch]] in [[1981]].
In November 2003 News Corp. began producing the newspaper in both [[broadsheet]] and [[tabloid]] sizes. On [[September 13]] 2004 the weekday broadsheet was withdrawn from sale in [[Northern Ireland]].
The latest official [[circulation figures]] for July 2004 show that ''The Times'' sold 651,000 copies.
== Editors ==
*[[John Walter]] (1785-1803)
*[[John Walter]] (1803-1809)
*[[John Stoddart]] (1809-1817)
*[[Thomas Barnes (journalist)|Thomas Barnes]] (1817-1841)
*[[John Delane]] (1841-1877)
*[[Thomas Chenery]] (1877-1884)
*[[George Earle Buckle]] (1884-1912)
*[[George Geoffrey Dawson]] (1912-1919)
*[[Henry Wickham Steed]] (1919-1922)
*[[George Geoffrey Dawson]] (1923-1941)
*[[Robert McGowan Barrington-Ward]] (1941-1948)
*[[William Casey]] (1948-1952)
*[[William Haley]] (1952-1966)
*[[William Rees-Mogg]] (1967-1981)
*[[Harold Evans]] (1981-1982)
*[[Charles Douglas-Home]] (1982-1985)
*[[Charles Wilson]] (1985-1990)
*[[Simon Jenkins]] (1990-1992)
*[[Peter Stothard]] (1992-2002)
*[[Robert Thomson (journalist)|Robert Thomson]] (2002- )
==External link==
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/ The Times On-Line]
[[Category:British newspapers|Times, The]][[Category:News Corporation subsidiaries|Times, The]]
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