Metro (British newspaper)
Metro is the United Kingdom's highest-circulation freesheet tabloid newspaper. It is published in tabloid format by DMG Media.[2] The newspaper is distributed from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays and the period between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day inclusive) mornings on public places in areas of England, Wales and Scotland. Copies are also handed out to pedestrians.
"GameCentral" redirects here. For the teletext publication, see Digitiser.Type
16 March 1999
Northcliffe House, Kensington High Street, London, England
951,838 (as of November 2023)[1]
Metro is owned by Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT), part of the same media group as the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, but in some areas Metro operates as a franchise with a local newspaper publisher, rather than as a wholly owned concern. While being a sister paper to the conservative Daily Mail, the newspaper has never endorsed any political party or candidate, and says it takes a neutral political stance in its reporting.[3][2]
Content[edit]
Print edition[edit]
The majority of the newspaper's content is produced at Northcliffe House in Kensington, west London. There are no regional editions within England and Wales, except for occasional differences in sports and arts content catered to specific local audiences. A separate, small team produces a Scottish edition of Metro; however, often the only substantial difference between the two versions is the front page.
The newspaper comprises three main categories: news, features and sport. The news section includes Guilty Pleasures, which typically contains one to four pages of showbiz and entertainment news; letters pages; and a page dedicated to business news. A popular feature of the letters pages is Rush-Hour Crush, in which readers send in anonymous messages to fellow users of public transport who they consider attractive. The column has led to at least one marriage.[20] The news section also features occasional feature columns from political pundits such as Sophy Ridge of Sky News.[21] However, while offering analysis, these columns do not typically express endorsements of political positions or candidates, thus not being considered as op-ed columns as in other newspapers.
The features section contains a mix of articles on travel, homes, style, health and science, as well as arts coverage and entertainment listings. The puzzles page currently features a crossword and Sudoku.
Online[edit]
Metro launched a website version of the newspaper in July 2001.[22] Between 2001 and 2014 most print edition articles were published on this website, along with additional online-only content such as blogs and opinion columns.
In 2014 production of the newspaper and the website were separated.[23] As a result, from 2014 Metro newspaper and Metro Online were produced by separate organisations and written independently by different editorial teams while remaining part of the same parent company. Deborah Arthurs was appointed Editor of Metro.co.uk in 2014, following her time as Femail Editor for MailOnline.[24]
In February 2021, the newspaper's separate website metro.news was abolished and merged back with metro.co.uk. Separate editorial teams continue to produce content for the website and print editions.[25]
Competition[edit]
Metro has faced competition in parts of the UK from other free newspapers, along with rivalry from paid-for national titles. Former editor Ted Young used to say that his 'mantra' was to produce a newspaper that its readers would be willing to pay for.[3]
Metro International attempted to launch its own UK edition in 1999, being distributed in Newcastle upon Tyne's Tyne & Wear Metro system competing with DMGT's Metro. After battling alongside each other with the same name, Metro International's Metro changed its name to Morning News. This attempt was short-lived, however, and Morning News was discontinued shortly afterwards.[26]
In 2005, Rupert Murdoch said he was worried by competition from Metro and that it had damaged the circulation of his newspaper the Sun. He told a press conference he was watching the free newspaper market "keenly and apprehensively".[27] Murdoch's News International subsequently launched a London-based evening freesheet in 2006 called The London Paper. This was closed on 18 September 2009.[28]
London Lite was another free evening newspaper published in London. It operated only from 2006 to 2009; it was owned by the same parent company as Metro, and was seen as a "spoiler" to protect against the commercial threat from The London Paper.[29]
Another rival is the London Evening Standard, which became a freesheet in 2009, though unlike Metro it is only published in the London region.[30]
Controversies[edit]
In the run-up to the 2015 United Kingdom general election, the then UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage refused to be interviewed by Metro, accusing them of bias against his party. This was denied by the newspaper's editor. All other national party leaders agreed to be interviewed, including Conservative prime minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband.[17]
Before the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Metro published a cover-wrap advert on behalf of the Leave campaign, paid for by the Democratic Unionist Party. The following day, the newspaper published another cover-wrap advert, this time from the Remain campaign. Editor Ted Young said both adverts, which each cost more than £250,000 to place, generated around 300 complaints each, accusing the newspaper of both pro- and anti-Brexit bias.[32] Concerns were subsequently raised over why the Democratic Unionist Party placed an advert in Metro because the newspaper does not publish in Northern Ireland.[33]
In May 2019, the paper was condemned by the National Union of Journalists and the Public and Commercial Services Union,[34][35] after an internal document leaked to The Guardian showed evidence that Amber Rudd, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, had authorised the use of at least £250,000 of public money for a ten-week run of advertorials to be placed in Metro newspapers to "challenge the myths" around the government's controversial Universal Credit programme.[36] The Trussell Trust also ran a counter-campaign called "Universal Credit Uncovered".[37] In June 2019, the Daily Mirror reported that 80 UK charities had filed a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority over "misleading Universal Credit adverts in Metro".[38] In July 2019, the Advertising Standards Authority announced it was launching an investigation into the DWP ads.[39] The move came after the Morning Star said that the Metro had not run the controversial ads in its 3 July 2019 print edition.[40] On 5 November 2019, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the campaign was misleading, branding the ads "exaggerated" and in some cases "unsubstantiated".[41] The Advertising Standards Authority upheld three complaint points whilst partially upholding a fourth.[42]