Pelle Tornberg: Free vs Paid Newspapers

Nov 17, 2008

Pelle Tornberg, former CEO of the Sweden-based free newspaper giant Metro International, argues that free and paid newspapers both have a role moving forward. Paid newspapers, however, need to radically change their business model.

Metro claims to be the largest newspaper in the world, with 70 daily editions in more than 100 major cities in 20 countries in 18 languages with an audience of more than 20 million daily readers.

Metro has lately come under much financial pressure and the whole advertising-based model of free newspapers has been put into question with the advertising downturn.

Free newpapers, Pelle argues in this video, will survive the downturn and eventually thrive again. The market leaders will do best since launching a new publication has high barriers to entry in terms of capital.

Paid newspapers, for Pelle, must change their model radically to include exclusive information, increase the cover price and reduce circulation.

“Free TV and free newspapers are used Monday to Friday while the pay TV, paid newspapers and paid magazine become the weekend reading. When I say paid, they might be sponsored, your company or an advertiser paying for it.”

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pelletornbergdoesntknow

Little does Pelle know that the circulation of newspaper in new york of Metro that is..is being falsely reported of how much readership there is.......Metro new York is inflating 30%of false readership in their daily reported numbers. It is a fact ...it is also know for a fact that the director of circulation, Joe Piro is running a scam operation and is playing with Meto's circulation numbers...Not only is Piro the director of Metro New york ,he happens to also be the distributor...????How is it possible for a company Like Metro to audit your own distribution company being assign by Joe Piro himself?????What ever happened to checks and balances????This is absolutely true He formed a distribution company with his former assistant manager who also worked with Metro and started their own company to distribute now 85% of Metro's newspaper....They are known as Villa Distributors....If you are the director and distributor at the same time do you think you are going to give accurate circulation numbers to Metro??? And do you think you are going to make your own company look bad?? Of course not that is what is happening in New York under every SeaBay holding"s investor' nose. Joe Piro And Villa Distributors are one company squeezing every buck they can from Metro, that is their operation in New York..Gentlemen on SeaBay I would tend careful attention to this matter because they also at one point had Boston's operation as well and they were found doing scandalous operations there as well that is why they lost Boston....I'm not makeing this up ask Joe Piro himself....and others .....Remember Newsday the largest circulating paper on Long Island New York? Well Joe Piro and his partner of distribution Freddy Villamar who both use to work for Robert Garcia (prosecuted for mail fraud false reporting of circulation numbers etc....) Came over to Metro in 2004 when Metro New York launched it's paper without any previous employee background check.It is by pure accident he landed the position as Director of Metro....This is the guy know running Metro's Circulation...Remember Newsday gave back 90Million Dollars to it's advertisers from it's lawsuit that they lost Thanks to Robert Garcia and it's crew....Gentlemen I hope I had Brought you some sense of awareness to the table, don't let this happen to you......