In 1807 , the brothers decided to relinquish editorial control , naming Lewis Doxat as the new editor . Seven years later , the brothers sold '' The Observer '' to William Innell Clement , a newspaper proprietor who owned a number of publications . The paper continued to receive government subsidies during this period ; in 1819 , of the approximately 23,000 copies of the paper distributed weekly , approximately 10,000 were given away as " specimen copies " , distributed by postmen who were paid to deliver them to " lawyers , doctors , and gentlemen of the town . " Yet the paper began to demonstrate a more independent editorial stance , criticising the authorities ' handling of the events surrounding the Peterloo Massacre and defying an 1820 court order against publishing details of the trial of the Cato Street Conspirators , who were alleged to have plotted to murder members of the Cabinet . The woodcut pictures published of the stable and hayloft where the conspirators were arrested reflected a new stage of illustrated journalism that the newspaper pioneered during this time
Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
The Observer