MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Commuters were offered a wealth of news Monday as rival Australian media giants began a publishing war with free newspapers.
Fairfax was out first with Melbourne
Express, a morning commuter free sheet, followed in the afternoon by News Ltd.'s MX. Both companies reported an enthusiastic response to the new publications.
The rival companies are seeking growth
in a market that analysts say offers little opportunity for expansion for paid publications. Both companies have traditional newspapers in Melbourne, the country's second largest city.
Younger
people who don't read newspapers were cited by both companies as the main target group for the new publications.
"Overseas experience suggests younger people, who are not traditional newspaper
readers, are looking for a lively read, an informative pick-me-up," said News Ltd.'s chief executive officer John Hartigan.
Melbourne Express editor Andrew Holden said the experience of foreign
free papers had been studied extensively.
"Research overseas and here convinces us there is a group out there who aren't reading papers," he said.
News Ltd. obtained the sole right to distribute
its paper on Melbourne's railway network. Fairfax set up stalls outside railway stations to distribute its newspaper.