From five days a week, to three days a week, to twice a week, to – what next? In August, Bonnier Tidskrifter took over the managing role of Stockholm City, a free newspaper plagued by recent losses. We met the publisher, Daniel Frodin, to hear his thoughts on the future of free newspapers.
A few years ago, the so-called free newspaper war raged on the streets of Stockholm. Three newspapers under different ownership competed for the open hands and eyes of bus and subway commuters. Metro was first on the scene in 1995, while Bonnier-owned Stockholm City, with its brigades of red-jacketed distributors, was launched in 2002. Both were published five days a week.