Entertainment For Lively Minds
London Evening Standard to become free
Posted by Melville on 2 October 2009 - 11:43am.
If this story on the BBC website is correct.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8286660.stm
This might seem parochial if you don't live in London, but it does show that the changes in the media, often discussed here, continue in unexpected directions.
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this is
the last rites for the Home Counties Mail. Very desperate move.
Manchester Evening News did this three years ago
Free in city centre, paid for elsewhere.
it already is free (partially)
At least, it's free after about 9pm, when most Central London stations are festooned with Standard vendors trying to give the things away.
Still too much
I came home late from London late one day last week and was given a copy that I "read" on the train - even at that price it still seemed too expensive though!
It's completely unnecessary...
People buy it, skim it, then just chuck it away. The cost to clean up these papers must be enormous. Giving it away free will make the problem even worse. Trains and platforms are already littered with the things and this initiative will dump more rubbish on our already crap-festooned streets!
Since the London Paper has
Since the London Paper has gone - the trains from London in the evening have started to look less cluttered with free newspapers. I was starting to think there would be redundancies amongst the litter collectors - but soon it will be back to normal.
My interest with free newspapers has waned. What was reported in the morning Metro was rehashed in the evening paper. I've started reading books - I take my paper with me and its far greener !!! Plus - is celeb news really that interesting ???
Strange
that they would start doing this just as one of the free evening papers goes under, due to production costs not being met by advertising, amongst other things.
I'll give it 6 months.
It will make it even worse
The property fetishism is infuriating. And the whole emperor's new clothes-ness of 'the greatest city in the world'. And the glossy pullout section on trustafarians at polo matches. But some bits of the Standard are worth reading. Anne McElvoy's political comment is mildly diverting for example, as are some of the columnists, and there are some ok music and film reviews. I often find myself buying it out of sheer desperation to fill my 40 minute train journey on the way back from London when I don't have a novel (or The Word) on the go.
But as someone pointed out on the Guardian's thread on this topic, the loss in sales revenue will be made up for by a drop in page count. And you can bet it'll be the decent pages that go and the Otis Ferry pullout that will stay.
What's next?
I don't know what you can read into circulation figures, and how much they reflect the financial status of the paper. But the Evening Standard has taken what is a fairly bold, or drastic, step, with a daily circulation of 250,000. The Independent has a circulation of 187,000, and the Guardian, 311,00. So I would guess they are also considering what they do next.
I think this cartoon sums it up
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2009/10/05/cartoons_2009092...
Just because it's free
doesn't mean it's crap.
Won't miss it if it goes, I'm afraid
Dreadful paper.
Didn't buy it when the old 'Evening News' was its rival, didn't buy it when it was the only option.
And who reads those free papers?
On the tube it's a book every time for me.
As for their sports coverage, the Standard seems more interested in the 'Champions' (deliberate speech marks) League, including Liverpool and Man. U., neither of which are actually in London, than cover Millwall, Orient, Barnet and the like.
Well
thats because most man u supporters are in London. Manc's support city.
Er, no
That's as sensible as saying 'Liverpudlians support Everton', or, for that matter, 'Londoners support Chelsea'.
A myth put about, skilfully it must be said, by City fans. Probably whiles away the interminable wait for their next trophy win...