The Sun News-Pictorial, commonly known as The Sun, was a morning daily tabloid newspaper in Melbourne, Australia established in 1922 and closed in 1990. Widely known as a conservative newspaper it was part of The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd stable of Melbourne newspapers. For more than fifty years it was the Australian newspaper with the largest circulation.
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Sun News-Pictorial
When Sir Keith Murdoch became editor-in-chief of The Herald in 1921, as well as shifting them to their iconic premises at 44-74 Flinders Street, he bought and closed their afternoon rival the Evening Sun. As a part of this deal, he took over the fledgling morning paper The Sun News-Pictorial.
Circulation
The Sun went on to become the highest-circulating daily in the country and at some points, the world, outselling its rivals three to one. One very substantial reason for its high level of daily sales was that the Sun News-Pictorial offered a free life-insurance policy to each of those who subscribed for regular daily home delivery of the newspaper (i.e., rather than those who bought it spasmodically from street vendors or news-agents), and the insurance policy (valued at somewhere near 12 months average wages) was current for the duration of that household's subscription.
Character
Along with its extensive coverage of Australian Rules football -- e.g., it was responsible for the competition that produced the original VFL/AFL team songs -- The Sun distinguished itself with its photography, columns and cartoons. Its longest running column was A Place in the Sun, originally written by Keith Dunstan -- founder of the Anti-Football League -- and later Graeme "Jacko" Johnstone, and illustrated by award-winning cartoonist Geoff "Jeff" Hook whose trademark fish-hook hid in the day's cartoon.
Competition
The Sun's main competitors were the broadsheets, The Argus and David Syme's more liberal minded The Age newspaper.
1990 merger
On October 8, 1990, The Sun was merged with its longer running sister publication, The Herald, an evening paper which had a 150 year history in Melbourne, to form The Herald Sun.
