• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, February 17, 2016

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: the publisher of the UK’s Daily Mirror is launching a new low-price national newspaper, tentatively called New Day, set to debut on February 29.

The newspaper, which will launch with a newsstand price of about 20 pence, will target a mid-market audience in competition with other big newspapers like the Express. The price may rise later depending on reader response.

New Day will have an initial print run of 2 million, including large numbers of copies for free distribution to raise awareness of the new newspaper. The newspaper will boast a relatively low proportion of advertising to editorial space, and will offer low advertising rates in a bid to gain traction with major advertisers – at least to begin with.

The launch of New Day comes at a time of turmoil, but also new opportunity in the British newspaper business. Last fall, the Daily Star, a popular tabloid, cut its price by half to 20 pence and succeeded in boosting sales, but its main rivals, the Sun and Mirror, don’t appear to have suffered encroachment as a result.

This prompted some industry observers to speculate that the newspaper was reaching a new, previously untapped audience, rather than stealing readers from competitors -- a feat the Daily Mirror may be trying to replicate with New Day.

On a less positive note, last week The Independent, a relatively small but well-known British newspaper, revealed it will cease publishing its print edition, although it will continue publishing on its Web site and a new app. The move to digital-only publishing will entail an unspecified number of layoffs.

The Independent’s former owner, Evgeny Lebedev, also sold its low-cost national sibling, i, to the Johnston Press, publisher of The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post, among other titles.