(), commonly abbreviated LUN, is a Chilean daily tabloid newspaper owned by El Mercurio S.A.P. and distributed nationally. It is primarily associated with entertainment, television, sports, human-interest stories and popular culture, while also covering national and international news, politics and the economy. It is generally characterized in academic studies of the Chilean press as a popular or sensationalist tabloid aimed at a mass audience.
History
Early years
Las Últimas Noticias was founded on 15 November 1902 by Agustín Edwards Mac-Clure, the owner of El Mercurio, as part of a modernization of his newspaper operation following his study of developments in the United States and Europe. It initially appeared as Las Últimas Noticias de El Mercurio, an afternoon newspaper associated with the newly established Santiago edition of El Mercurio. The first director was the writer and journalist Joaquín Díaz Garcés.
The paper was originally published in the afternoon and remained an afternoon newspaper until the 1930s, when it became a morning daily. In 1928, under the direction of Byron Gigoux James, it changed from broadsheet to tabloid format.
In July 1931, a second edition of Las Últimas Noticias was produced in response to the large volume of news surrounding the fall of the government of President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. This edition eventually became the separate afternoon newspaper La Segunda, which was established in 1931.
Mid-20th century
As a morning newspaper, Las Últimas Noticias developed an audience among the middle and lower-middle classes and placed considerable emphasis on crime and other popular news. During the second half of the 20th century, its contents included comics and other popular features, including Calvin and Hobbes and Condorito.
The newspaper underwent a significant change in orientation in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It reduced many of its traditional supplements and increasingly emphasized entertainment, television, celebrities and other popular-culture subjects. Academic studies have subsequently characterized LUN as a national daily tabloid with a strong emphasis on entertainment and show business.
The newspaper's transformation was also associated with the appointment of Agustín Edwards del Río to its leadership in the early 2000s. Under his direction, LUN developed a distinctive editorial identity centered on popular stories and large, visually prominent front pages.
Digital production
In 1994, Las Últimas Noticias became one of the first Chilean newspapers to adopt fully digital newspaper production. Its transition to electronic pagination was part of the broader modernization of the printing and production operations of El Mercurio S.A.P.
The newspaper also developed an online edition, which became an important part of its distribution alongside the printed newspaper. LUN remains both a print newspaper and a digital news outlet.
Relocation of offices
On 7 October 2024, Las Últimas Noticias left its long-time offices in the Bellavista neighborhood and moved to facilities belonging to El Mercurio S.A.P. at Avenida Santa María 5542 in the commune of Vitacura, where the group's printing plant is also located.
Content and readership
Las Últimas Noticias has a national circulation and combines conventional news coverage with a strong emphasis on entertainment and popular culture. Its coverage includes national and international news, politics, business, sports, television, celebrities, lifestyle, automobiles, housing, education and other subjects of broad popular interest.
Its style is generally more colloquial and entertainment-oriented than that of El Mercurio, another newspaper owned by El Mercurio S.A.P. Studies of the Chilean media market have consequently classified the two newspapers as serving substantially different audiences, with LUN positioned toward a more popular readership.
The newspaper's print and digital editions continue to cover entertainment and television alongside general news. A 2025 study of news consumption in Chile identified Las Últimas Noticias among the country's major media brands across print, web, television and social-media consumption.
See also
El Mercurio La Segunda La Cuarta Newspapers in Chile
References
External links
Las Últimas Noticias — official website