Britain's new tabloid: The Sun also rises THE Lazarus newspaper is rising from the dead. Only seven months after the News of the World was closed following revelations of extensive voice-mail hacking, the Sun on Sunday is expected to launch on February 26th. Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corporation, has something to boast about at last after a torrent of revelations of malpractice, criminal investigations and arrests at his redtop titles in London. The man who acquired the News of the World in 1969 must now restore to its replacement a respectable chunk of the 2.7m newspaper buyers (and perhaps £35m to £40m in advertising revenue) lost last summer. Many former News of the World buyers have apparently been snapped up by two tabloid newspapers owned by Trinity Mirror, the People and the Sunday Mirror. But almost half seem to have stopped buying a newspaper altogether (see chart). Mr Murdoch arrived in Britain in mid-February in the midst of a bitter internal argument. His reporters are furious that e-mails from Sun journalists have been handed to police who are investigating wrongdoing. Trusted sources could be revealed, they fear. Yet Mr Murdoch needs to reassure investors that he is making his British operations legally compliant and respectable. Launching a new paper, with no murky past, could help accomplish that while cheering up the newsrooms. American investors, who have often scorned Mr Murdoch's newspaper habit, appear calm. The company's share price rose after the launch announcement. Larry Haverty, portfolio manager at GAMCO, a New York investment firm with holdings in News Corporation, says it has "paid enough respect to the corpse" of the News of the World and should get back in the business. A seven-day operation could attract advertisers hoping to target readers unrelentingly, adds Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis, a London outfit. Still, building a new paper on the grave of a revered, if rackety, tabloid is tough. The Sun is a bullish, bouncy title, complete with nude pin-ups. The old Sunday redtop was harder-hitting and punitive in tone. The title will use existing resources and staff, keeping costs low. A starting price, mooted as 50p, is intended to lure back absconded tabloid readers, or at least push rivals into a price war. The first true seven-day national newspaper in Britain presents a challenge to the whole industry. The overall print market is declining, raising the pressure to cut costs. The Telegraph and Guardian Media Group have Sunday titles that are weaker than their Saturday newspapers. Even stronger sellers like the Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Times may feel some pressure for integration, to keep costs down and pool scant advertising. In the 1980s Mr Murdoch revolutionised the newspaper industry by introducing new technology and breaking the print unions. His new Sun now shines defiantly on the seventh day, for the mogul who stubbornly refuses to ditch the risky Fleet Street habit.