As the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper,2
the Observer has had a long and eventful
history. Founded in 1793, it has witnessed and influenced a number of dramatic
events in modern history as well as reporting and documenting change within
society. The newspaper’s actions during the period after the Second World War,
under the editorship of David Astor, are of particular significance and are the focus of
this dissertation. Astor was a strong believer in liberal reform and had a powerful
impact on the newspaper. Internationalism, the belief in a global society based on
co-operation and understanding, and not restricted by the borders of the nation state,
became a foundation of the newspaper. This, alongside a focus on individualism,
transformed the Observer into an institution with the intellectual expertise to
dramatically reform society.