Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Free newspapers may offer different news contents to different audiences, when compared with traditional, paid-for newspapers, but they, nevertheless, concentrate on news, and thereby provide society with information on current affairs.These papers have seen circulation rise until 2008; after that, a decline set in, leading to closures and often a monopoly situation in the mature European newspaper markets covered in our research.Free newspapers seem to follow a typical life cycle pattern, moving from growth to maturity, and to saturation and decline.Diversification strategies -home-delivery, weekend, sports, afternoon, and financial -have been disappointing so far.There is no evidence, however, of total extinction, indicating that there is room for at least one title -possibly two -in every market.The situation in the surveyed markets also suggests that a free newspaper may be a 'natural' monopoly.
Author: Piet Bakker
Institution: Danish School of Media and Journalism
Language: English
Topic: Journalism and Media Studies
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2107083834