News: Can't Give It Away

I’ve mentioned before that I think the urban freesheets like Metro and the London Paper have been pretty effectively devaluing news for a while. I’m sat drinking a coffee in Farringdon, as I arrived rather early for BrandNew this evening, and the two distributors stood right in front of me are really struggling to give away their free papers. Some people cross the street to avoid them:

It a salutary reminder that it isn’t just free websites that have shaped our perception of the value of journalism.