Author:

The most widely read papers in Paris, Manhattan, London and Toronto are free dailies. According to this article by Zachary M. Seward on Forbes.com, these papers "have rapidly claimed a firm stake of the [newspaper] market," posting strong circulation gains fueled, in part, by a younger audience that would not pay for a newspaper. But do the freebies make money? Seward writes: "Most media companies won't say, but there are good and bad signs."

The AAN Library has been updated with the New York Times media reporter's rundown of faux alts and commuter dailies; his examination of how some AAN editors are tweaking their papers' established templates; and his look at innovative magazine strategies that might be co-opted by alt-weeklies. Also recently added to the Library: a recap of AAN member papers' experience with faux alts, and the results of the 2005 AAN Marketing Survey.