The Standard, Walmington's most popular newspaper, traces its lineage to a 1747 publication by Black Gull, which saw a small pilot issue, barely recognisable in terms of modern newspapers, run a headline that spoke opaquely of a Mrs.Pike's 'Trouble With The Gulls'. As no complete copy survives it has proven impossible for scholars to shed light on the newsworthiness of the seemingly small matter. It was some time before The Standard became a regular publication truly identifiable as a newspaper in the modern understanding, and the golden days of pan-imperial publication are already over, but today The Standard exists as Walmington's only nation-wide domestically owned and operated broadsheet. The paper now operates a website with limited free content and a subscription service, though hard copies continue to be flown over-seas to several locations for the benefit of ex-patriots and other Walmingtonians abroad, and editions are also printed in the Cape Colonies and Drapol.
In per-capita terms The Standard is one of the most widely read national newspapers in the world, though the slightness of the Walmingtonian population makes it a small fish in global terms. Never the less, the owners Standard Media Group have long refused to sell and today the government has designated the paper a national heritage piece that can not legally be discontinued or foreign-owned, promising to nationalise The Standard rather than let it fail should such a prospect ever arise.
The Walmington Bugle is The Standard's principle competitor in Walmington and is also several generations old. Though a tabloid, it is regarded by most as a respectable publication, though it lacks the imperial-scale resources of its rival, and is typically read by working class residents of Norbray and the Home Islands.