Morning:
3°c
London Lite set to close
Ross Lydall27.10.09
The London Lite was today placed under threat of closure.
The free newspaper, which is owned by Associated Newspapers, is set to become the latest victim of the recession, with 36 jobs at risk.
The announcement came just a month after its rival, thelondonpaper, was closed by Rupert Murdoch's News International. The titles had fought a three-year circulation battle, each distributing more than 400,000 copies every weekday.
However, despite the change in newspaper culture they brought, their profitability was placed under strain by the economic downturn.
Associated said consultation with staff would take place before a final decision on closure. The Evening Standard became free two weeks ago, with 600,000 copies distributed each weekday.
Steve Auckland, managing director of Associated Newspapers' free division, said: “The latest development in the London afternoon free newspaper space dictates that we look again at the future of London Lite. Despite reaching a large audience with an excellent editorial format, we are concerned about commercial viability in this highly competitive area”.
Media sources said that Lite editor Ted Young and his team had done a “very good job” journalistically, with the Lite especially popular among young Londoners. One source told the Guardian: “There were profitable weeks for the London Lite since the closure of thelondonpaper, but they can't see their way forward to longterm profitability.”
The Lite shared a newsroom with the Standard, and its parent company, Daily Mail & General Trust, also owns a 24.9 per cent stake in this newspaper.
The Lite was launched on 25 August 2006, and was the first free evening paper in the capital. Thelondonpaper launched 10 days later.
Reader views (10)
Such a shame. I have been in London just over 3 years and the London Lite has been good easy company on the way home from work at the end of a long day. Good way of wasting the time on the tube and train and catching up with whats going on. Then when you get home you know everything important.
Please consider bringing it back at some point.
- Sara Shankster, London
The Lite is a fantastic paper - a bit of light reading after a day's work. Many thousands of commuters will miss it. Given the choice of a freebie, I would take the Lite every time.
- Diane, Grays, Essex
I have been working for London Lite for long time.... It was so great to work with. This is the only job I have and I got used to work with the shift I was given by Lite. The shift time for London Lite is very suitable for the students and like me, about 300 employees are going to become jobless..... I am very very very much shocked and I still hope, it's not gonna happen. I love working with Lite. I am requesting to ES from deep of my heart---- please give chance to London Lite merchandisers to work with ES if London Lite really closes. Thanks.
- Peer Baba, Lpndon, UK
It is sad that London will have only one daily paper that is devoted to London when there three some fifty years ago with a paid for circulation that was twenty times that of the Evening Standard before it became a free title.
The lack of competition in the news market will leave London a poorer capital city in terms of news and information and will mean that London politicians will have an easier ride in the future.
- John Cobbett, Hollingbourne
It would be shame if they can't fuse the two. London Lite is a brighter, funkier read: bars and gastropubs whereas the Standard is all restaurants, mortgages and double-barrelled columnists.
- Clive Morris, London
Cue the ES sliding from quality quasi-broadsheet into tabloid then...
- Phil, London
Will miss "get it off your txt" though. Best part of the whole paper!
- Laura, London, UK
Well with the Evening Standard now free, the hammer was heading towards the Lite. Also the sharing of Offices doesn’t help, you see the others being thrown on the scrapheap and you can feel the impending doom heading towards you...
- Jacqui, London
It did what it said on the outside of the can! I enjoyed it often travelling to and from work and I really hope that the staff can be taken on by the ES.
I suppose that now the ES is a freebie it was logical that the LL would be dropped soon but I really hope that the resources are now invested in keeping the ES up to its usual level of circulation and that the journalism remains top notch. London deserves a quality daily.
- Sam, London,UK
i don't think many will mourn its passing. the celeb news wasnt bad though so I hope evening standard will do some more of that..
- Dave, London, UK
