Free daily newspaper
Encyclopedia
Free daily newspapers are distributed free of charge, either in central places in cities and towns, or with other newspaper
s. The revenue
s of such newspapers are based on advertising
.
publisher Dean Lesher
began what is widely believed to be the first free daily, now known as the Contra Costa Times
. In the 1960s, he converted that newspaper and three others in the county to paid circulation.
In the early 1970s, in Boulder, Colorado
, regents at the University of Colorado
kicked the student-run Colorado Daily
off campus because of editorials against the Vietnam War
. Regents hoped the paper would die; instead it began to focus on the community as a free tabloid published five days a week.
In the next couple of decades, a number of free dailies opened in Colorado
. Not coincidentally, most were started by University of Colorado graduates. Free dailies opened in Aspen
(1979, 1988), Vail (1981), Breckenridge (1990), Glenwood Springs (1990); Grand Junction (1995); Steamboat Springs (1990); and Telluride (1991).
In 1995, the founders of free dailies in Aspen and Vail teamed up to start the Palo Alto Daily News
in Palo Alto, California
, a city about 20 miles south of San Francisco. The Palo Alto paper was profitable within nine months of its launch and usually carries more than 100 retail (nonclassified) ads per day.
The "Palo Alto Daily News model" has been copied a number of times over the years, including by four San Francisco Bay Area publications — the San Francisco Examiner, the San Mateo Daily Journal
, the Berkeley Daily Planet
(which opened in 1999 and folded in 2001 and was reopened as a twice-a-week paper by new owners in 2004) and the Contra Costa Examiner (which opened and closed in 2004).
The publishers of the Palo Alto Daily News
(Aspen Times
Daily founding editor Dave Price
, and Vail Daily founder Jim Pavelich) have since launched successful free dailies in San Mateo, California
(2000), Redwood City, California
(2000), Burlingame, California
(2000), Los Gatos, California
(2002), Denver, Colorado
(2002), and Berkeley, California
(2006). Each goes by the "Daily News" name with the city's name in front, such as Denver Daily News
.
Under the Palo Alto Daily News model, papers are delivered to public places such as coffee shops, restaurants, stores, gyms, schools, corporate campuses, and news rack
s. Price and Pavelich have avoided putting the content of their newspapers online because that would reduce readership of their printed newspapers, and therefore reduce the effectiveness of their print advertising. While ads can be placed on Web pages, they are not as effective for clients as print advertising. They have said that if they ever find an example of a newspaper that is making a profit on its website, they would copy that approach.
In 1906 the Manly Daily (Australia) was launched, it was distributed on the ferry boats to Sydney and is now published as a free community daily by Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd.
Der Panzerbär (Berlin), published by Joseph Goebbels was distributed for one week for free in 1945 in Berlin. Readers in the besieged city were urged to read the paper and pass it on.
In 1974 MetroNews was launched in Sao Paulo (Brazil), the paper is still published.
In 1983, the free Eindhovens Nieuwsblad was published in the Netherlands during 2 weeks.
In 1984 the Birmingham Daily News
was launched in Birmingham
, England
. It was distributed free of charge on weekdays to 300,000 households in the West Midlands
and was the first such publication in Europe
. It was profitable until the early 1990s recession
, when it was converted into a weekly title by its then owners Reed Elsevier
. By 1992, a number of former paid-for local newspapers in the United Kingdom
, such as the Walsall Observer
, were being closed down and converted to free newspapers (sometimes called "freesheets").
Free daily Keizai no Densho-bato started in 1987 in the northern part of Japan, it is still published.
In 1992 the Moscow Times (Russia, still published) and Mini Diario (Valencia, Spain, until 2008) were launched, a year later the The Leader started in Malaysia, the paper lasted probably no longer than only one year.
In 1995, the same year the Palo Alto Daily News began, Metro
started what may be the first free daily newspaper
distributed through public transport
in Stockholm, Sweden. Later, Metro launched free papers in the Czech Republic
(1996); Hungary
(1998); the Netherlands
and Finland
(1999); Chile
, USA
, Italy
, Canada
(2001), Poland
, Greece
, Argentina
, Switzerland
, Spain
and Denmark
(2001); France
, Hong Kong
and Korea
(2002); Portugal
(2004); Serbia
and Ireland
(2006). In the UK
, the Daily Mail and General Trust
group launched its own edition of Metro (see Metro (Associated Metro Limited)
) in London in 1999, effectively beating Metro International to the London market. The paper now has 13 editions across the country and a combined readership of 1.7 million.
According to the Metro website (see external links), 42 daily Metro editions are published in 63 major cities in 17 countries in 16 languages. However, not every Metro launch was a success: Operations in Switzerland
and Argentina
were ended after some time while an afternoon free paper in Stockholm was closed within a few months.
Metro International is now based in Luxembourg
while the company's headquarters are in London
. All Metro editions can be downloaded (in PDF format) from their local website or from a special Metro download page (see external links).
's Schibsted
. In Switzerland
, Spain
and France
it publishes 20 minutes
, the name indicating the time people need to read it. Schibsted also had some disappointments. A German version had to be taken from the market after a bitter newspaper war with local publishers in Cologne
, while an Italian
edition never saw the streets because of legal matters (non-EU companies could not control Italian media
firms, but this did not prevent the Italian market from becoming flooded with free newspapers). The Schibsted editions have a total circulation of 1.7 million.
In March 2006 former Palo Alto Daily News
managing editor Jeramy Gordon launched the Santa Barbara Daily Sound
in Santa Barbara, California
. Less than two months later, Dave Price (journalist) and Jim Pavelich launched the San Francisco Daily
, which in 2008 morphed into the Palo Alto Daily Post
, moving offices from San Francisco to Palo Alto.
on the name Metro to quarrels over the right to be distributed through public transport. This kind of distribution is by no means the only way free papers are distributed: racks in busy places like shopping centers, universities
, restaurants (McDonald's
), and hospital
s, and delivery by hand on the street, outside railway stations, or door-to-door are also used.
In the United States, the owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer
, Philadelphia Daily News
and The New York Times
sued the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
over an exclusive deal it made with Metro to distribute its papers on the agency's commuter trains. Metro won the suit but is losing the newspaper war; the free daily has struggled to win advertisers.
newspaper war and legal battles were not the only problems free papers encountered. In Paris
, hawkers who distributed free papers were attacked, and papers were destroyed and burned. The most common newspaper war however is the clash between publishers or, to be more precise, between local publishers and entrepreneurs like in Cologne. In many cities publishers turned the market that has been quiet for decades into a battlefield. Local publishers are now responsible for almost half of the total circulation of free daily newspapers. They have a monopoly in Belgium
, the UK
, Singapore
, Melbourne
, Austria
, Argentina
and Iceland
. However, in other markets (France
, Switzerland
, the Netherlands
, Korea
, Denmark
, Finland
, Italy
, USA
) local publishers have a substantial market share. In some French and Italian markets three titles are competing; in Seoul
there were six titles in October 2004. There are 3 free daily papers in London
.
, France
, Russia
, Portugal
, Poland
). In Moscow
the semiweekly (in October 2004 expanded to three times a week) is also called Metro. In the Netherlands
there is a local free weekly published four times a week. Also it is very likely that the rapid tabloidization in Western Europe
(UK, Ireland
, Sweden
, Belgium
, the Netherlands) has something to do with the success of the free tabloids. In Germany
there are now four so-called compact cheap newspapers.
in New York
and Chicago
, the Washington Post Company
in Washington, D.C., and News Corporation
in London
) have launched free newspapers in their markets — despite the obvious risk of "cannibalization" (stealing readers from their own paid products) — to reach new readers.
) and other chemical processes to make reclaimed paper blank again for reuse are not lessening the concerns of environmentalists.
have partnered with Network Rail
to provide nine recycling bins which have been installed at Waterloo station. The project will initially run as a three-month trial and will see newspaper recycling bins located on platforms one through to four and 15 through to 19. Approximately 75,000 issues of the Metro are handed out at South West Trains' stations every morning; this represents around 12 tonnes of paper. Once the trial is complete, the companies say that they will measure the success and consider extending the scheme on a permanent basis.
London Underground
have partnered with London's Metro free newspaper to place bins at Watford, West Ruislip, Stanmore, Cockfosters, Hainault and High Barnet tube stations. The bins will be in place from 6 October for a period of six months and will be emptied daily by London Underground cleaning contractors, MetroNet
and Tube Lines
.
Westminster Council recently announced that 120 tonnes of free newspapers were collected in six months from the 70 extra recycling bins that were sponsored by Associated Newspapers
and News International
. This figure falls short of the councils 400 tonnes per annum target. During the six-month period the council also collected 465 tonnes of waste paper from its own 153 on-street recycling bins. The free newspapers publishers are responsible for producing approximately 100 tonnes of free newspaper waste every day.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s. The revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
s of such newspapers are based on advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
.
In the U.S.
US free newspapers trace their history back to the 1940s when Walnut Creek, CaliforniaWalnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
publisher Dean Lesher
Dean Lesher
Dean Stanley Lesher was an American newspaper publisher, founder of the Contra Costa Times and the Contra Costa Newspapers chain. He was also a well-known philanthropist in the San Francisco Bay Area.-Early life:...
began what is widely believed to be the first free daily, now known as the Contra Costa Times
Contra Costa Times
The Contra Costa Times is a daily newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, U.S.. The paper serves Contra Costa and eastern Alameda counties, in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area...
. In the 1960s, he converted that newspaper and three others in the county to paid circulation.
In the early 1970s, in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, regents at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
kicked the student-run Colorado Daily
Colorado Daily
The Colorado Daily is a newspaper published in Boulder, Colorado, by Prairie Mountain Publishing Co. LLC, a unit of MediaNews Group. The Daily is operated out of the offices of Boulder's Camera newspaper...
off campus because of editorials against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Regents hoped the paper would die; instead it began to focus on the community as a free tabloid published five days a week.
In the next couple of decades, a number of free dailies opened in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Not coincidentally, most were started by University of Colorado graduates. Free dailies opened in Aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
(1979, 1988), Vail (1981), Breckenridge (1990), Glenwood Springs (1990); Grand Junction (1995); Steamboat Springs (1990); and Telluride (1991).
In 1995, the founders of free dailies in Aspen and Vail teamed up to start the Palo Alto Daily News
Palo Alto Daily News
The Daily News, originally the Palo Alto Daily News, is a free daily newspaper owned by MediaNews Group and located in Menlo Park. It was formerly published seven days a week and at one point had a circulation of 67,000...
in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, a city about 20 miles south of San Francisco. The Palo Alto paper was profitable within nine months of its launch and usually carries more than 100 retail (nonclassified) ads per day.
The "Palo Alto Daily News model" has been copied a number of times over the years, including by four San Francisco Bay Area publications — the San Francisco Examiner, the San Mateo Daily Journal
San Mateo Daily Journal
The San Mateo Daily Journal is a daily newspaper published six days a week, Monday through Friday plus a combo Weekend edition. The newspaper is distributed throughout San Mateo County, California....
, the Berkeley Daily Planet
Berkeley Daily Planet
The Berkeley Daily Planet was a free weekly newspaper published in Berkeley, California.The paper was politically progressive, and offered endorsements of progressive and liberal to left leaning candidates....
(which opened in 1999 and folded in 2001 and was reopened as a twice-a-week paper by new owners in 2004) and the Contra Costa Examiner (which opened and closed in 2004).
The publishers of the Palo Alto Daily News
Palo Alto Daily News
The Daily News, originally the Palo Alto Daily News, is a free daily newspaper owned by MediaNews Group and located in Menlo Park. It was formerly published seven days a week and at one point had a circulation of 67,000...
(Aspen Times
Aspen Times
The Aspen Times is an 11,500-circulation, 7-day-a-week newspaper in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado with a history dating back to 1881.-History:...
Daily founding editor Dave Price
Dave Price (publisher)
Dave Price is an American journalist who has edited, published and founded a number of free daily newspapers including the Palo Alto Daily News in Palo Alto, California, the Daily Post in Palo Alto, California, the Aspen Times Daily in Aspen, Colorado.-Background:Price began his career at age 15...
, and Vail Daily founder Jim Pavelich) have since launched successful free dailies in San Mateo, California
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
(2000), Redwood City, California
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
(2000), Burlingame, California
Burlingame, California
Burlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame. It is renowned for its many surviving examples of Victorian architecture, its affluence, and...
(2000), Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos, California
The Town of Los Gatos is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 29,413 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area at the southwest corner of San Jose in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains...
(2002), Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
(2002), and Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
(2006). Each goes by the "Daily News" name with the city's name in front, such as Denver Daily News
Denver Daily News
The Denver Daily News is a former free daily newspaper in Denver, Colorado. At the time of its closure on June 6, 2011, It distributed 25,500 copies Monday-Friday in stores, coffee shops, restaurants and workplaces. Copies could also be found in the Daily's distinctive blue boxes.Assuming a...
.
Under the Palo Alto Daily News model, papers are delivered to public places such as coffee shops, restaurants, stores, gyms, schools, corporate campuses, and news rack
Newspaper vending machine
A newspaper vending machine or newspaper rack is a vending machine designed to distribute newspapers. Newspaper vending machines are used worldwide, and they are often one of the main distribution methods for newspaper publishers.-History:...
s. Price and Pavelich have avoided putting the content of their newspapers online because that would reduce readership of their printed newspapers, and therefore reduce the effectiveness of their print advertising. While ads can be placed on Web pages, they are not as effective for clients as print advertising. They have said that if they ever find an example of a newspaper that is making a profit on its website, they would copy that approach.
Outside the U.S.
In 1885 the General-Anzeiger für Lübeck und Umgebung (Germany) was launched. The paper was founded in 1882 by Charles Coleman (1852-1936), who’s family was from Scotland, as a free twice-a-week advertising paper in the Northern German town of Lübeck. In 1885 the paper went daily. From the beginning the General-Anzeiger für Lübeck had a mixed model, for 60 pfennig it was home delivered during three months. Unknown, however, is when the free distribution ended. The company website states that the ’sold’ circulation in 1887 was 5,000. In 1890 total circulation was 12,800 in 1890, suggesting that there was indeed a fair amount of free distribution.In 1906 the Manly Daily (Australia) was launched, it was distributed on the ferry boats to Sydney and is now published as a free community daily by Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd.
Der Panzerbär (Berlin), published by Joseph Goebbels was distributed for one week for free in 1945 in Berlin. Readers in the besieged city were urged to read the paper and pass it on.
In 1974 MetroNews was launched in Sao Paulo (Brazil), the paper is still published.
In 1983, the free Eindhovens Nieuwsblad was published in the Netherlands during 2 weeks.
In 1984 the Birmingham Daily News
Birmingham Daily News
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...
was 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...
. It was distributed free of charge on weekdays to 300,000 households in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
and was the first such publication in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It was profitable until the early 1990s 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:...
, when it was converted into a weekly title by its then owners 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...
. By 1992, a number of former paid-for local newspapers in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, such as the Walsall Observer
Walsall Observer
The Walsall Observer was a weekly newspaper, published in Walsall in the West Midlands of England from 1868 to 2009.- History :Founded October 24, 1868 as The Walsall Observer, and General District Advertiser, it became a regional weekly...
, were being closed down and converted to free newspapers (sometimes called "freesheets").
Free daily Keizai no Densho-bato started in 1987 in the northern part of Japan, it is still published.
In 1992 the Moscow Times (Russia, still published) and Mini Diario (Valencia, Spain, until 2008) were launched, a year later the The Leader started in Malaysia, the paper lasted probably no longer than only one year.
In 1995, the same year the Palo Alto Daily News began, Metro
Metro International
Metro International is a Swedish media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the Metro newspapers. Metro International's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 41% since launch of the first newspaper edition in 1995. It is a freesheet, meaning that distribution is...
started what may be the first free daily newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
distributed through public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
in Stockholm, Sweden. Later, Metro launched free papers in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
(1996); Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
(1998); the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
(1999); Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(2001), Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(2001); France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
(2002); Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
(2004); Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
(2006). In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Daily Mail and General Trust
Daily Mail and General Trust
Daily Mail and General Trust plc is a British media conglomerate, one of the largest in Europe. In the UK, it has interests in national and regional newspapers, television and radio. The company has extensive activities based outside the UK, through Northcliffe Media, DMG Radio Australia, DMG World...
group launched its own edition of Metro (see Metro (Associated Metro Limited)
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...
) in London in 1999, effectively beating Metro International to the London market. The paper now has 13 editions across the country and a combined readership of 1.7 million.
According to the Metro website (see external links), 42 daily Metro editions are published in 63 major cities in 17 countries in 16 languages. However, not every Metro launch was a success: Operations in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
were ended after some time while an afternoon free paper in Stockholm was closed within a few months.
Metro International is now based in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
while the company's headquarters are in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. All Metro editions can be downloaded (in PDF format) from their local website or from a special Metro download page (see external links).
Free dailies today
In less than 10 years these papers have been introduced in almost every European country and in several markets in the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and Asia. There are, as of 2008, free newspapers in 58 countries — in Germany and Japan free daily newspapers have ceased to exist. Market leader Metro distributes seven million copies daily, while other companies publish 14 million copies. These 22 million copies are read by at least 45 million people daily. Worldwide, there are now over 44 million free newspaper editions being distributed every day; this is up from 24 million in 2005. Europe has the vast majority of daily free papers at 28.5 million, with the Americas at 6.8 million and Asia/Pacific/Africa regions at 8.6 million.Entrepreneurs
Since 2000, many free dailies have been introduced including three in Hong Kong and three in Vancouver, B.C. Besides Metro, another successful publisher is NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's Schibsted
Schibsted
Schibsted is a Norwegian media conglomerate with operations in 20 countries, the most important being Norway and Sweden. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange....
. In Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
it publishes 20 minutes
20 minutes
20 minutes may refer to:*20 minutes *20 minutes *20 minutos, Spanish newspaper...
, the name indicating the time people need to read it. Schibsted also had some disappointments. A German version had to be taken from the market after a bitter newspaper war with local publishers in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, while an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
edition never saw the streets because of legal matters (non-EU companies could not control Italian media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
firms, but this did not prevent the Italian market from becoming flooded with free newspapers). The Schibsted editions have a total circulation of 1.7 million.
In March 2006 former Palo Alto Daily News
Palo Alto Daily News
The Daily News, originally the Palo Alto Daily News, is a free daily newspaper owned by MediaNews Group and located in Menlo Park. It was formerly published seven days a week and at one point had a circulation of 67,000...
managing editor Jeramy Gordon launched the Santa Barbara Daily Sound
Santa Barbara Daily Sound
The Santa Barbara Daily Sound is a daily newspaper in Santa Barbara, California that is published Tuesday through Saturday. It is distributed through newspaper racks and in stores, coffee shops, restaurants, schools and major workplaces. The founder and publisher is Jeramy Gordon, former managing...
in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. Less than two months later, Dave Price (journalist) and Jim Pavelich launched the San Francisco Daily
San Francisco Daily
The Daily Post is a free newspaper based in the San Francisco, California area.-History:The Daily Post is owned by Dave Price and Jim Pavelich, who were the publishers of the Palo Alto Daily News and its sister papers in San Mateo, Burlingame, Los Gatos, Redwood City and Berkeley...
, which in 2008 morphed into the Palo Alto Daily Post
Palo Alto Daily Post
The Daily Post is a revival of the original Palo Alto Daily News, founded in 2008 by the Daily News’ founders Dave Price and Jim Pavelich. The Post is published Monday-Saturday and distributed in more than a dozen communities on the San Francisco peninsula...
, moving offices from San Francisco to Palo Alto.
Legal battles
In almost every European market where free newspapers were introduced there have been lawsuits on every possible ground, from unfair competition to littering, from the rightRight
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory...
on the name Metro to quarrels over the right to be distributed through public transport. This kind of distribution is by no means the only way free papers are distributed: racks in busy places like shopping centers, universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, restaurants (McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
), and hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s, and delivery by hand on the street, outside railway stations, or door-to-door are also used.
In the United States, the owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The newspaper is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under...
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
sued the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit—bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolley bus—that serve 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia,...
over an exclusive deal it made with Metro to distribute its papers on the agency's commuter trains. Metro won the suit but is losing the newspaper war; the free daily has struggled to win advertisers.
Newspaper wars
The CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
newspaper war and legal battles were not the only problems free papers encountered. In Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, hawkers who distributed free papers were attacked, and papers were destroyed and burned. The most common newspaper war however is the clash between publishers or, to be more precise, between local publishers and entrepreneurs like in Cologne. In many cities publishers turned the market that has been quiet for decades into a battlefield. Local publishers are now responsible for almost half of the total circulation of free daily newspapers. They have a monopoly in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. However, in other markets (France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) local publishers have a substantial market share. In some French and Italian markets three titles are competing; in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
there were six titles in October 2004. There are 3 free daily papers in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Internet strategy
Price and Pavelich have an entirely different view of the Internet than other free daily publishers. While most free daily publishers post their stories and/or PDF pages online, the creators of the Palo Alto Daily News model have refused to put their content online. They argue that posting their stories online will reduce demand for their printed newspapers, which will also reduce the effectiveness of their print ads. They note that readers have dropped their subscriptions to paid newspapers because they can get the same stories online, yet those newspapers make far less money on their websites than they do on their print editions.Tabloidization
The success of the new free daily newspaper has been imitated by other publishers. In some countries free weeklies or semiweeklies have been launched (NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
). In Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
the semiweekly (in October 2004 expanded to three times a week) is also called Metro. In the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
there is a local free weekly published four times a week. Also it is very likely that the rapid tabloidization in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
(UK, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Netherlands) has something to do with the success of the free tabloids. In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
there are now four so-called compact cheap newspapers.
Competition and cannibalism
Figures indicate that many readers of free newspapers are indeed "new" readers or read both paid and free papers. Research by Belgian, UK, and US free dailies indicate that half of their readers only read free dailies. There seems to be a negative effect on single copy sales, but the overall effect does not indicate a great deal of impact on paid dailies. Indeed, several publishers of established paid products (notably the Tribune CompanyTribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
in New York
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
and Chicago
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, the Washington Post Company
Washington Post Company
The Washington Post Company is an American education and media company, best known for owning the newspaper for which it is named, The Washington Post. The Company also owns Kaplan, Inc., a leading international provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses...
in Washington, D.C., and News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
in London
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
) have launched free newspapers in their markets — despite the obvious risk of "cannibalization" (stealing readers from their own paid products) — to reach new readers.
Impact on the environment
Whilst the proliferation of freesheet newspapers continues to escalate, the impact on the environment is fast becoming a major concern to many environmentalists. Over 44 million editions are being produced every day worldwide; it takes 12 established trees to make one tonne of newsprint, which is enough to print 14,000 editions of an average-size tabloid. That means a daily usage of newsprint of a little over 3,142 tonnes. Which, in turn, means the felling of 37,714 trees. On average around 70% of paper used by the newspaper industry is claimed to be recycled. So after recycled paper usage, over 11,314 trees are being felled daily to feed the freesheet print presses in over 58 countries. Also, whilst the increased use of recycled paper is welcomed by many, the extensive bleaching (especially use of chlorineChlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
) and other chemical processes to make reclaimed paper blank again for reuse are not lessening the concerns of environmentalists.
Voluntary schemes
With the continued success of the free newspaper model, newspaper publishers are coming under increasing pressure from local councils and public transport companies to contribute more to the clean up costs. In London, South West TrainsSouth West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
have partnered with Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
to provide nine recycling bins which have been installed at Waterloo station. The project will initially run as a three-month trial and will see newspaper recycling bins located on platforms one through to four and 15 through to 19. Approximately 75,000 issues of the Metro are handed out at South West Trains' stations every morning; this represents around 12 tonnes of paper. Once the trial is complete, the companies say that they will measure the success and consider extending the scheme on a permanent basis.
London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
have partnered with London's Metro free newspaper to place bins at Watford, West Ruislip, Stanmore, Cockfosters, Hainault and High Barnet tube stations. The bins will be in place from 6 October for a period of six months and will be emptied daily by London Underground cleaning contractors, MetroNet
Metronet
Metronet Rail was one of two companies in a public-private partnership with London Underground.Metronet was responsible for the maintenance, renewal, and upgrade of the infrastructure on nine London Underground lines from 2003 to 2008. This included track, trains, signals, civil work and stations...
and Tube Lines
Tube Lines
Tube Lines Limited, initially known as 'Infraco JNP', has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London since May 2010. Tube Lines is an asset-management company responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the infrastructure, including track, trains, signals, civil work and...
.
Westminster Council recently announced that 120 tonnes of free newspapers were collected in six months from the 70 extra recycling bins that were sponsored by Associated Newspapers
Associated Newspapers
Associated Newspapers is a large national newspaper publisher in the UK, which is a subsidiary of the Daily Mail and General Trust. The group was established in 1905 and is currently based at Northcliffe House in Kensington...
and News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
. This figure falls short of the councils 400 tonnes per annum target. During the six-month period the council also collected 465 tonnes of waste paper from its own 153 on-street recycling bins. The free newspapers publishers are responsible for producing approximately 100 tonnes of free newspaper waste every day.
Timeline
- 1885 - 18??: General-Anzeiger für Lübeck und Umgebung (Lübeck (Germany)
- 1906 – present: Manly Daily (Manly, Australia)
- 1945: Der Panzerbär (Berlin, Germany)
- 1947: Dean LesherDean LesherDean Stanley Lesher was an American newspaper publisher, founder of the Contra Costa Times and the Contra Costa Newspapers chain. He was also a well-known philanthropist in the San Francisco Bay Area.-Early life:...
launches free daily in Walnut Creek, CaliforniaWalnut Creek, CaliforniaWalnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
, which became known as the Contra Costa TimesContra Costa TimesThe Contra Costa Times is a daily newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, U.S.. The paper serves Contra Costa and eastern Alameda counties, in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area...
. - 1971: Colorado DailyColorado DailyThe Colorado Daily is a newspaper published in Boulder, Colorado, by Prairie Mountain Publishing Co. LLC, a unit of MediaNews Group. The Daily is operated out of the offices of Boulder's Camera newspaper...
in Boulder, ColoradoBoulder, ColoradoBoulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
is kicked off campus and becomes a free daily newspaper serving the community around the university. - 1979–present: A number of free dailies open in ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. - 1984–1991: The Birmingham Daily NewsBirmingham Daily NewsThe 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...
is published in BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham 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...
, EnglandEnglandEngland 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...
. - 1989: The Conway Daily Sun starts — a free tabloid publishing six days a week. Started at 3,000 circulation and now publishes 16,000 daily. Within a year, the paper was making a profit. Due to economic troubles, paper reduced to five days per week in 2009.
- 1995: Palo Alto Daily News starts — a free tabloid publishing then six days a week. Within nine months, the paper was making a profit.
- 1995: Metro begins publishing in StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. - 1997: Metro launches second edition in Prague, Czech Republic.
- 1999: A free daily starts in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
known as the Berkeley Daily PlanetBerkeley Daily PlanetThe Berkeley Daily Planet was a free weekly newspaper published in Berkeley, California.The paper was politically progressive, and offered endorsements of progressive and liberal to left leaning candidates....
on April 7. It folds on November 22, 2002. The name is sold to a local politician who revives the paper in 2004 as a twice-a-week publication. - 2000: Palo Alto Daily News launches sister papers in San MateoSan Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
, BurlingameBurlingame, CaliforniaBurlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame. It is renowned for its many surviving examples of Victorian architecture, its affluence, and...
and Redwood City, CaliforniaRedwood City, CaliforniaRedwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
on August 9. - 2000: 'San Mateo Daily Journal starts publishing on August 18, providing real local news for the local area.
- 2000: In order to win Justice Department approval of its purchase of the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Hearst CorporationHearst CorporationThe Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
is forced to sell its San Francisco Examiner to the Florence Fang family. Hearst is also ordered to pay the Fangs $66 million in order to operate the paper for three years. - 2000: The City PaperThe City PaperThe City Paper is a free weekly newspaper serving Nashville, Tennessee. The City Paper began publication as a daily paper on November 1, 2000, providing competition to The Tennessean, which was the only daily in town after the Nashville Banner closed in 1998...
, a free daily in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, launches on November 1. - 2002: Metro InternationalMetro InternationalMetro International is a Swedish media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the Metro newspapers. Metro International's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 41% since launch of the first newspaper edition in 1995. It is a freesheet, meaning that distribution is...
launched the first free daily newspaper in Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and broke even within a year: said to be the best record in the group. The big success led to the launch of four free daily papers, with a total free circulation rising to two million in 2007. - 2002: Los Gatos Daily NewsLos Gatos Daily NewsThe Los Gatos Daily News, now called the Los Gatos News was a free newspaper in Los Gatos, California published 3 days a week. The newspaper was founded May 15, 2002 by Dave Price and Jim Pavelich, who also published the Palo Alto Daily News. Both papers were distributed in newspaper racks and in...
launched by Palo Alto Daily News on May 15. - 2002: Denver Daily NewsDenver Daily NewsThe Denver Daily News is a former free daily newspaper in Denver, Colorado. At the time of its closure on June 6, 2011, It distributed 25,500 copies Monday-Friday in stores, coffee shops, restaurants and workplaces. Copies could also be found in the Daily's distinctive blue boxes.Assuming a...
publishes first issue on May 10. - 2003: The Fangs convert the broadsheet, paid-circulation San Francisco Examiner into a free circulation tabloid, modeled after the Palo Alto Daily News on February 24.
- 2003: AM New YorkAM New YorkamNewYork is a morning free daily newspaper , published in New York City by Cablevision. According to the company, average daily distribution as of December 2008 was 345,053, according to MondoNewspapers.com. When the newspaper launched October 10, 2003, amNewYork was the first newspaper of its...
launches on October 10. - 2003: QuickQuick (newspaper)Quick is a defunct Dallas-Fort Worth area free weekly newspaper published from 2003 to 2011. As the name implies, it was delivered in a quick-to-read format: a tabloid ranging in page count from 20 to 40...
, a free daily newspaper serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, is launched on November 1 by The Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
and published by BeloBeloBelo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the...
Corp. The paper is in response to plans by American Consolidated Media to launch a free daily newspaper, A.M. Journal ExpressA.M. Journal ExpressA.M. Journal Express was a short-lived free daily newspaper in Dallas, Texas, owned by American Consolidated Media. In its six-month life span, it lost under $5 million, according to company chairman Jeremy Halbreich. The paper started on November 12, 2003, and closed on April 30, 2004. When plans...
. - 2003: A.M. Journal ExpressA.M. Journal ExpressA.M. Journal Express was a short-lived free daily newspaper in Dallas, Texas, owned by American Consolidated Media. In its six-month life span, it lost under $5 million, according to company chairman Jeremy Halbreich. The paper started on November 12, 2003, and closed on April 30, 2004. When plans...
is launched on November 12 by American Consolidated Media. The paper closed April 30, 2004 after losing under $5 million, according to chairman Jeremy Halbreich. - 2004: Conservative billionaire Philip AnschutzPhilip AnschutzPhilip Frederick Anschutz is an American entrepreneur. Anschutz bought out his father's drilling company in 1961 and earned large returns in Wyoming. He has invested in stocks, real estate and railroads...
buys the free circulation tabloid San Francisco Examiner from the Fangs for a reported $20 million on February 19. - 2005: Palo Alto Daily News sold to Knight RidderKnight RidderKnight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...
on February 15. Later in the year, on May 20, Palo Alto Daily News spawns another free daily in Berkeley, called the East Bay Daily NewsEast Bay Daily NewsThe East Bay Daily News was a free daily newspaper in Berkeley, California published 5 days a week with an average daily circulation of 10,000. The newspaper was founded May 20, 2005 by journalist Dave Price and Jim Pavelich, who also published the Palo Alto Daily News...
. - 2005: In April, Morris Communications starts Bluffton TodayBluffton TodayBluffton Today is a daily newspaper in Bluffton, South Carolina that integrates many elements of citizen journalism into its tight local focus. Some industry analysts regard the newspaper as a possible future model for small newspapers across the country...
http://www.blufftontoday.com, an experimental free daily tabloid with a significant online community journalism element, in Bluffton, South CarolinaBluffton, South CarolinaThe weather in the Bluffton, SC area is typical of the Southeast with generally mild temperatures from Fall through Spring and a warm and humid Summer. There can be occasionally snow flurries in the winter but that is quite unusual....
. - 2005: The first financial free newspaper, City A.M.City A.M.City A.M. is a free, business-focused newspaper distributed in and around London in the United Kingdom. It was launched by a group of entrepreneurs in September 2005 and remains independent of any other media company. Its certified distribution hit a new record of 113,348 copies a day in November...
, was created in London. - 2006: Santa Barbara Daily SoundSanta Barbara Daily SoundThe Santa Barbara Daily Sound is a daily newspaper in Santa Barbara, California that is published Tuesday through Saturday. It is distributed through newspaper racks and in stores, coffee shops, restaurants, schools and major workplaces. The founder and publisher is Jeramy Gordon, former managing...
starts on March 23 in Santa Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. Founded by Jeramy Gordon. - 2006: San Francisco DailySan Francisco DailyThe Daily Post is a free newspaper based in the San Francisco, California area.-History:The Daily Post is owned by Dave Price and Jim Pavelich, who were the publishers of the Palo Alto Daily News and its sister papers in San Mateo, Burlingame, Los Gatos, Redwood City and Berkeley...
starts on May 3. Founded by Dave Price, Jim Pavelich and Amando Mendoza. - 2006: Manchester Daily Express starts on May 22 in Manchester, New HampshireManchester, New HampshireManchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
. Founded by Jody Reese, the paper became a weekly on February 28, 2008. - 2006: London LiteLondon LiteLondon Lite was the trading name of a British free daily newspaper, published by Associated Newspapers , and now defunct. It was available Monday to Friday afternoons and evenings from street distributors in Central London only...
and thelondonpaperThelondonpaperThe London Paper was a free daily newspaper, published by NI Free Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International...
fight for media supremacy in Central LondonCentral LondonCentral London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
. - 2007: In March, Profigroup starts Dialog http://dialogmediabg.com, the free newspaper project in BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
(East Europe) with only positive news and articles. - 2007 Westminster supports campaign to highlight freesheet waste http://www.westminster.gov.uk/councilgovernmentanddemocracy/councils/pressoffice/news/pr3786.cfm
- 2007: December Notes from the UndergroundNotes from the underground (creative writing paper)Notes From The Underground is a creative writing free newspaper. Its first issue was distributed on the London Underground and in shops and libraries throughout London on 17 December 2007. It aims to function as a quality alternative free newspaper to those on the tube...
launches as London's first creative writing tabloid freesheet. - 2007: Anti-freesheet fight goes to No 10
- 2008: UK papers to prompt recycling debate
- 2008: Palo Alto Daily Post starts on May 27 in Palo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
. Founded by Dave Price and Jim Pavelich. - 2009: Both Thelondonpaper and London Lite shut down.
Sources
- Main source: Free Daily Newspapers
- Environmental viewpoint Project Freesheet