Free newspaper draws new audience in Italy

Handing out the Corriere della Sera Anteprima in Milan. The free paper and its rival, 24 minuti, left, reach a new audience. (Sandro Rizzi/AP)

Via the International Herald Tribune:

Corriere della Sera Anteprima, is a polished four-page tabloid-size image of its namesake Milan daily, with a condensed version of the day's top news and a front-page editorial by one of its top op-ed columnists.

In an era when newspaper readership is declining - and with it, advertising revenue - it would seem there would be little appetite for a new entry, even a free one, especially if much of its content had made the rounds that morning.

But Fabrizio Perretti, who teaches media and entertainment economics at Bocconi University in Milan, said the free papers aim at people who are more likely to watch television and do not normally read newspapers, creating "a very tempting market for advertisers."

Paradoxically, he added, instead of diluting the market for the parent papers, the freesheets are contributing to the stability of the newspaper industry "because they reach an audience that wasn't reached before."

The full article.