Birmingham Daily News
Encyclopedia
The Birmingham Daily News was Europe's first free daily newspaper
, launched in Birmingham
, England
in 1984.
The paper was created by local entrepreneurs Chris and Pat Bullivant and was edited by David Scott, but was later bought by media giant Reed Elsevier
. It was published from offices at Five Ways
and delivered free to 300,000 houses around the Birmingham
and Solihull
areas.
Although it operated profitably for many years the Daily News suffered from the decline in advertising revenue during the early nineties recession
. Production was reduced to weekly in June 1991 with the newspaper retitled Birmingham Metronews. This in turn was relaunched as a daily publication in 2000 as the Midland edition of the Metro
group, distributed free of charge to commuters travelling by public transport.
Free daily newspaper
Free daily newspapers are distributed free of charge, either in central places in cities and towns, or with other newspapers. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising.-In the U.S.:...
, launched in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1984.
The paper was created by local entrepreneurs Chris and Pat Bullivant and was edited by David Scott, but was later bought by media giant Reed Elsevier
Reed Elsevier
Reed Elsevier is a publisher and information provider operating in the science, medical, legal, risk and business sectors. It is listed on several of the world's major stock exchanges. It is a FTSE 100 and FT500 Global company...
. It was published from offices at Five Ways
Five Ways, Birmingham
Five Ways is an area of Birmingham, England. It takes its name from a major road junction, now a busy roundabout to the south-west of the city centre which lies at the outward end of Broad Street, where the Birmingham Middle ring road crosses the start of the A456 .-History:The name of Five Ways...
and delivered free to 300,000 houses around the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
areas.
Although it operated profitably for many years the Daily News suffered from the decline in advertising revenue during the early nineties recession
Late 1980s recession
The recession of the early 1990s describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Causes:...
. Production was reduced to weekly in June 1991 with the newspaper retitled Birmingham Metronews. This in turn was relaunched as a daily publication in 2000 as the Midland edition of the Metro
Metro (Associated Metro Limited)
Metro is a free daily newspaper in the United Kingdom published by Associated Newspapers Ltd . It is available from Monday to Friday each week on many public transport services across the United Kingdom.-History:The paper was launched in London in 1999, and can now be found in 14 UK urban centres...
group, distributed free of charge to commuters travelling by public transport.