Entertainment · Film · 5 hrs ago
Danny Boyle’s Ink Traces The Sun’s Tabloid Origins
Danny Boyle’s film Ink looks at the origins of The Sun, the British gossip newspaper.
Set in the late 1960s, it follows editor Larry Lamb, played by Jack O’Connell, whom Rupert Murdoch chose to reshape the paper.
The film presents their approach as a shift from simply reporting news to giving audiences what they want.
It shows how the drive to make news profitable can push journalism toward less noble aims.
Boyle’s story links that history to today’s media culture, including tabloids, blogs, podcasts and cable news.
The film is based on a play and uses real people, but accuracy is not its main aim; it is a shaped interpretation of their influence.
Danny Boyle’s film Ink traces the origins of the British tabloid The Sun in the late 1960s.
The story focuses on editor Larry Lamb, whom Rupert Murdoch chose to reshape the struggling paper.
The /Film review says the film shows how the pursuit of profit helped turn journalism toward giving audiences what they wanted.
The review describes Ink as a dark account of the consequences of that shift for modern media.
- Who
- Director Danny Boyle, editor Larry Lamb and media owner Rupert Murdoch are central to the film.
- What
- Ink traces the origins of The Sun and examines the tabloid culture that developed around it.
- When
- The story is set in the late 1960s. The article was published on November 9, 2026.
- Where
- The story is set in the United Kingdom.
- Why
- Lamb and Murdoch sought to make The Sun profitable by giving readers what they wanted.
Journalism as a public good
Profit-driven tabloid media
Purpose
Journalism as a public good
Journalism should serve as an essential function of a democratic society.
Profit-driven tabloid media
The film depicts Lamb and Murdoch focusing on the business side of news.
Approach
Journalism as a public good
The review contrasts journalism that informs the public with media shaped by commercial priorities.
Profit-driven tabloid media
The review says the film shows the pursuit of profit changing the nature of news.
The film’s story is set in the United Kingdom as Larry Lamb works to reshape The Sun.
/Film published its review of Ink.
- Director
- Danny Boyle
- Film
- Ink
- Newspaper
- The Sun
- Editor
- Larry Lamb
- Media owner
- Rupert Murdoch
- Setting
- Late 1960s, United Kingdom
What people are saying
Give 'em what they want
the business side of the news business