Associated’s launch of two Metro editions in Scotland and the West
Midlands last Friday has extended its turf war with the regional
press.
The launches, as predicted in Media Business last week, have forced
Trinity Mirror to react by increasing the frequency of its Birmingham
Metronews and Glaswegian from weekly to daily.
Both Metro editions were launched on Friday with 100,000 print runs from
bases in Glasgow and Birmingham. Trinity Mirror rushed out 50,000 copies
of a 40-page edition of Metronews in the West Midlands on Thursday
morning at rail and bus terminals.
The two rivals are negotiating with the various transport companies for
exclusive distribution rights within the stations.
The Metronews project is being managed by Coventry Newspapers’ managing
director Dan Mason who moves to the Birmingham Post and Mail as
publisher on 6 December. The editorial content of the daily edition of
Metronews, unlike the weekly, is nationally focused. Friday’s paper
carried eight pages of ads including Trainline.com and American
Airlines.
The paper is being put together by a team of 11 journalists from Trinity
Mirror’s Midlands papers. ’All the regional papers in the Trinity Mirror
group are helping us with copy and pictures,’ added Mason.
The Glaswegian’s plans are still being developed but it is expected to
bring out a special 48-page edition on Thursday and Friday mornings,
starting this week.
Associated’s Metro Scotland will cover the corridor between Glasgow and
Edinburgh. Metro managing director Mike Anderson commented: ’The
regional papers are screaming because we’re on their patch but they’ve
been in decline for years. We’re offering something new and the locals
love it.’
