Thelondonpaper

"thelondonpaper" (pronounced "the London paper") is the trading name of a free newspaper, published by NI Free Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International (who also own the companies that publish "The Sun" and "The Times"). It has been available from Monday to Friday each week in Central London since September 4, 2006.

The paper is the first newspaper to be published in direct competition with the "Evening Standard" since 1987 and Robert Maxwell's short-lived "London Daily News". It is also the first newspaper to be launched by News International; its other titles were bought many years after initial publication.

The week before "thelondonpaper" was first published, Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the "Evening Standard", re-branded their existing free lunchtime newspaper "Standard Lite" to "London Lite" and changed the publishing time to include the evening rush-hour, a move that has been widely seen as a 'spoiler' to protect against the launch of "thelondonpaper".

The paper is targeted towards young readers, with emphasis on celebrity and more light hearted news, little analysis of news stories and uses lots of images and colour. As a consequence of the launch of "thelondonpaper" as well as Associated Newspaper's own "London Lite", the "Evening Standard" has attempted to go more upmarket, emphasising the difference between the free newspapers and itself by adding the tagline "The Quality Newspaper" across the top of the front page.

It currently holds the contract for evening free distribution in London National Rail stations, meaning it can be picked up at the same locations as Metro in the mornings. It was also believed to be bidding for the larger contract to distribute free newspapers at London Underground stations on weekday afternoons. However Transport for London have since announced that the contract has been withdrawn after no acceptable bids were received.

Criticism

The paper has been criticised for advertising other News Corp products, and too much pointless celebrity news in the guise of serious news articles, such as a new Murdoch-backed music website and the Simpsons movie. It also lists Sky One alongside the regular 5 terrestrial channels (however this has become common even in non-Murdoch owned papers).

Like the other free London dailies, "thelondonpaper" is generally discarded by its readers as soon as they have finished. The use of resources to print something with such a short lifespan has been criticised on environmental grounds. Westminster City Council estimated that free newspapers made up a quarter of all rubbish in the West End [ [http://www.newswatch.in/news-analyses/circulation-audience/6662.html Newswatch India » As waste piles up, London freesheets talk a lot of garbage ] ] , much of which went un-recycled, although some stations have positioned recycling bins at entrances and exits specifically for this purpose.

Errors

In the paper's first ever edition, in September 2006, the paper somehow confused the white rocker Pete Doherty with the Black rapper P Diddy. Further, in July 2007, the paper reported that Pete Doherty had just completed a gig, even commenting that he "was looking the best he's been for ages.. seemed really on top of it..", when in fact the gig that the journalist was supposed to be reviewing was cancelled due to Doherty's admission into rehab. [Private Eye - No. 1191 - 17 August, 2007]

External links

* [http://www.thelondonpaper.com thelondonpaper.com] Official website for thelondonpaper.
* [http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.902496.0.londons_free_newspapers_revealed.php London's free newspapers revealed] This Is Local London

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