A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the oldest and most widely respected newspapers in the world. The level and trend in the number of "newspapers of record by reputation" is regarded as being related to the state of press freedom and political freedom in a country. It may also be a newspaper authorized to publish public or legal notices, thus serving as a newspaper of public record. A newspaper whose editorial content is largely directed by the state can be referred to as an official newspaper of record, but the lack of editorial independence means that it is not a "newspaper of record by reputation". Newspapers of record by reputation that focus on business can also be called newspapers of financial record. Newspapers of public record A "newspaper of public record", or government gazette, refers to a publicly available newspaper that is authorized by a government to publish public or legal notices. It is often established by statute or official action and publication of notices within it, whether by the government or a private party, is usually considered sufficient to comply with legal requirements for public notice. Such gazettes often have little editorial content (i.e. opinion articles), and are focused on the transmission of information to the public regarding state services and state decisions; an example is Latvia's Latvijas Vēstnesis. In some jurisdictions, privately owned newspapers may register with the public authorities to publish public and legal notices, or be otherwise eligible to publish said notices (terms used may include "newspaper of general circulation" among others). Likewise, a private newspaper may be designated by the courts for publication of legal notices, such as notices of fictitious business names, if certain judicial and statutory standards are met. These are sometimes called "legally adjudicated newspapers". Official newspapers of record as government communications The term "newspapers of public record" can also be used to denote those that are owned and operated by a Government that directs their entire editorial content. Such newspapers, while pejoratively termed "state mouthpieces", can also be called "official newspapers of record", independently of whether or not it also publishes legal notices - distinguishing them from a gazette whose primary role is to publish notices, as their entire editorial copy represents the