24, Metro, and Rush

[albertGQ]

What's up with all these free newspapers nowadays?

Why did all three get launched at virtually the same time? I know 24 is being produced by Sun Media, but what about Metro and Rush? I would think the Calgary Herald prints one of those two

How do they make money anyway? I can't see just advertisement dollars would be enough to keep those papers afloat. Not only that, but wouldn't the introduction of 24 hours cut into the Calgary Sun's paper sales? Obviously the Sun has way more articles and features then 24, but for someone on the run who only have about 5-10 minutes every morning, they could just pick up a free copy of 24 instead of spending $1 on the Sun

I wouldn't have started this thread, but since I work downtown, I am bombarded by these people that give away those three new papers everytime I get off the C train

[Knut]

Lots of Ads.... etc

These newspapers are the wave of the future... all of Europe has them. You can still buy some, but these ones cover your basic news and sports. The ones you buy are more like daily magazines with editorials and article series.

Metro i think is worldwide. I attempted to read Metro when i was in Sweden (it was in swedish so really i just did the Suduko and SEL standings).

[DuffMan]

I just 24 for the first time yesterday, and I thought it looked more like the Entertainment section of the Sunday Sun or the movie guide.

[Hack&Lube]

This is basically providing the internet for people who places where people wished they had the internet for quick entertainment reads but can't.

Like the buses, trains, etc. It's a way for newspapers to access big populations of people who are dying for something to read and ensuring lucrative ad dollars over the growing internet industry. But hey, remember DOSE? That didn't survive print form afterall did it? I wonder why.

BTW, papers and magazines make more money off their advertisers than the people buying them. Their massive print facilities makes printing cheap cheap cheap.

[gottabekd]

If they want to give them out, fine. But I hate how they chase you down and try to stick it in your hand.

I wondered about Dose. If it failed, I don't know how 3 new ones can survive.

[bluejays]

in Toronto we've had 24, Metro and Dose for awhile. Didn't realize Dose failed. They're good for just getting a quick glimpse of news shots. The puzzles and celebrity gossip are interesting too. Aside from that, it's just an extreme condensed newspaper. Free, so how can anyone complain?

[Hack&Lube]

Dose stopped printing in the Calgary area at least.

[Knut]

I think Dose stopped printing here because of the left-leaning aspect of the paper... with FFWD allready there and the proportion of left-leaning population less here than in other areas... it was bound to fail.

Besides... FFWD has way better music and movie reviews.

[Rathji]

Dose was a good read, even if you didn't like the slant of their polotics. Haven't tried any of the new ones though.

[North East Goon]

It's like you are walking down the Vegas Strip now, when you get off the C-Train. Minus the nice weather of course.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by Hesla

Metro i think is worldwide. I attempted to read Metro when i was in Sweden (it was in swedish so really i just did the Suduko and SEL standings).

yep they had a 'guy' from Metro on the radio the other day, and he stated it started in Sweded and is now international (or at least Europe/NA I'm not sure where else, he implied they weren't in Japan, but other than that?...)

[FCAV]

Welcome to the wave of the future.

These free 'commuter' daily's are being offered up to target younger readers, where newspapers like the Sun and Herald are failing to attract readers.

You'll notice that the content in '24' and 'Metro' are widely taken from the wire, meaning they can have a small staff of two or three people essentially just laying it out.

Once circulation of these print magazines jump, so will the cost to advertise, meaning the Sun and the Herald will in fact make money off these.

Personally, though, I don't find that they offer anything I haven't already read the night before, which is why I wont necessarily be in a panic to find one when I jump on the C-Train.

[albertGQ]

So which of these three would you guys say have become the dominant of the three?

My list is:
Metro (Calgary Herald???)
24 (Calgary Sun)
Rush (????)

[J pold]

I don’t mind the Paper I just despise being bombarded with them every morning

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by J pold

I don’t mind the Paper I just despise being bombarded with them every morning

###. Especially when you tell them no thanks, and they come back with "but it's free."

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by J pold

I don’t mind the Paper I just despise being bombarded with them every morning

Agreed. I have to walk through a gauntlet of newspapers when I get off 7th street station.

[fredr123]

It's kept some of the homeless people away from a few of the corners I frequent. Not sure what's worse: a dude begging for your change or a dude begging to give you a tabloid...

[enthused]

Originally Posted by J pold

I don’t mind the Paper I just despise being bombarded with them every morning

Yeah, seriously. I don't like having them shoved in my face... if I want one, I'll grab it thank you very much. I find that those papers are good for a quick read though, its a quick way to catch up on what's going on in the news.

[albertGQ]

The downfall of this is the origional street paper....Street Talk.

I wonder how drastically did sales drop after the implementation of these three bigger papers

[Agamemnon]

I'm also annoyed... I get off at the 3rd street station downtown every day and there are always 2 of them handing out papers, one on each side of the sidewalk. When they hold the papers out they reduce the amount of sidewalk being used be an entire c-train of people by about 50%... even though its a pretty tiny peeve, it still sucks... get the freaking hell out of the way!