Saudi Arabia's FIFA World Cup 2034 bid achieves highest evaluation score in history    Substitute Al-Othman leads Al-Qadsiah to a crucial victory against Al-Khaleej    Ronaldo's double powers Al-Nassr to a 2-0 victory over Damac    Riyadh Metro ticket prices starts at SR4    Minister Al-Samaani inaugurates technical office to enhance judicial quality in Qassim    Saudi Transport Authority cracks down on foreign trucks violating rules    Saudi Arabia retains its seat on OPCW Executive Council    Saudi Arabia's R&D expenditure hits SR22.61 billion in 2023    Saudi Arabia, Comoros strengthen economic ties with new MoU    Displaced Palestinians in Gaza suffer in harsh weather    Saudi Arabia receives extradited citizen wanted for corruption crimes from Russia    China investigates a top military official as Xi broadens purge of PLA generals    Russian defense minister visit North Korea to expand military cooperation    K-Pop group NewJeans split from agency in mistreatment row    Putin threatens Kyiv decision-makers after striking energy grid    Culture minister visits Diriyah Art Futures    GCC Preparatory Ministerial Meeting discusses developments in Gaza and Lebanon    Al Taawoun seals AFC Champions League Two knockout spot with 2-1 win over Al Khaldiya    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



London's Evening Standard to become free paper
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 02 - 10 - 2009


The Evening Standard has decided to take on
rivals in London's fiercely competitive newspaper market by
switching to free distribution later this month, according to AP.
The 180-year-old paper's Russian tycoon owner says
dropping the 50 pence ($0.80) price will make it the
world's first quality newspaper to adopt the free model.
The company, which also publishes The Times and The Sun
newspapers, said the paper had performed below expectations
in a competitive evening newspaper sector that includes
free rivals.
The move comes as newspapers around the world struggle to
adapt to the challenge for readers from free news on the
Internet and the plunge in advertising revenue caused by
the global recession.
Just last month Rupert Murdoch's media group News
International shut down its daily freesheet,
thelondonpaper.
The Evening Standard's circulation will more than double
from 250,000 to over 600,000 copies after it begins free
distribution on Oct. 12, the paper said in a statement.
In the statement, company Chairman Alexander Lebedev said
he wanted the paper, which the Russian tycoon and former
KGB spy bought earlier this year, to be the world's «first
leading quality newspaper to go free,» and said he expects
other papers to follow suit.
The paper, whose history can be traced back to 1827 and
whose blue-and-white signboards and brash vendors are
London institutions, has struggled to adapt to the Internet
age. It is believed to lose millions of pounds a year and
faces fierce competition with daily free afternoon
newspapers.
Lebedev was ranked by Forbes magazine last year as the
world's 358th richest man, worth more than $3 billion. But
his fortune has been hit hard by the global economic
downturn. Lebedev said last year that he has seen about
two-thirds of his stock portfolio wiped out by the crisis
and joked that he has fallen off the Forbes list.
Lebedev, 49, made his money in banking and insurance and
has built a reputation as a philanthropist and champion of
independent media.
As an intelligence agent, he served in the Soviet embassy
in London in the 1980s. He has said that one of his main
tasks was to read British newspapers and report on their
contents, developing a particular fondness for the
Standard.


Clic here to read the story from its source.