The London newspaper war kicks off

News International had some early teething problems with the
distribution, including a half-hour period when distributors at Euston
Station ran out of copies. Thelondonpaper's website also failed to
launch on time but was live by 7.30pm on Monday, three hours later than
planned.

News International's title launched with advertisers including T-Mobile,
Fiat, BT and ntl:telewest. Its back page carried an ad for the Monty
Python musical, Spamalot. London Lite's back page was booked by American
Express.

Sources said it was too early to judge the impact of the freesheet war
on sales of the Evening Standard. Some expect it to lose as much as a
third of its circulation.

THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY PASSES JUDGMENT

- RICHARD WARREN - DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY, DELANEY LUND KNOX WARREN &
PARTNERS

The Standard offers everything a good newspaper does - breaking news
stories, a proper business section and star columnists. In readership
terms, I don't think either of the new papers is a threat to the
Standard. In advertising terms they might be, which is why, given the
stickiness of the readers, putting the cover price up to 50p was a
shrewd move.

Of the two freesheets, I preferred the londonpaper. It felt more modern,
more considered and had more of a sense of its target market.

London Lite felt more scrappy and cramped, with a lot of editorial
"borrowed" from the Standard. My instinct is that this has been put
together in a hurry as a spoiler, without the planning required to work
out what young non-newspaper readers are looking for.

thelondonpaper: Like

London Lite: Dislike

- KELLY HARROLD, HEAD OF PRESS, ZENITHOPTIMEDIA

Londoners were hit with three headlines in their afternoon papers on 4
September - "Croc man killed by stingray", "The Croc Hunter is killed by
a fish" and "First womb transplants" - which headline belonged to which
paper?

I think we would all guess the last was from the Standard. Which papers
the others belonged to is more difficult to decide. London Lite is more
sensationalist and thelondonpaper more urban. It is the differentiating
factors that will be key to the success of all three papers.

Growth in the London newspaper market is a step forward. Advertisers can
access the hard-to-reach younger audience. Consumers can access free
editorial for their journey home.

People's lives are busier than ever but give them what they want, when
they want it, and they will consume it.

thelondonpaper: No preference

London Lite: No preference

- TOM MORTON, HEAD OF PLANNING, TBWA\LONDON

I think thelondonpaper is the early winner in the battle of the evening
reads.

It's easy on the eye - more like Grazia or the Berliner Guardian. Design
creates a more distinctive positioning for thelondonpaper, which matters
when readers have to make an active choice between the papers' rival
distributors.

By contrast, London Lite is still attached to traditional newspaper
behaviour. The stories felt cut and culled from a main paper, rather
than prepared especially for the new format. The public don't care that
Associated Newspapers is defending the Standard - London Lite feels like
a budget option. And its editorial line reflected that of the Daily Mail
and the Standard, criticising women, running scare stories and featuring
Elizabeth Hurley.

thelondonpaper: Like

London Lite: Dislike

- SIMON HINDE, DIRECTOR OF DAY TEAM AND WELCOME SCREENS, AOL

Thelondonpaper is slick and impressive. It has thought about its
readership and put together a young, colourful, upbeat package.

It has learned some lessons from websites. The news is short and
functional, pictures are allowed to tell stories, and there are fact
boxes and bite-sized chunks of information throughout. There's a lot
going on, but the design is cool and well-paced.

Like Metro, thelondonpaper has thought about what a paper needs to be to
prosper in the digital age. It looks modern, nimble and relevant and
makes the Standard look even more bloated and suburban by contrast.

London Lite, however, is just a spoiler, a condensed version of the
Standard with a bit of agency copy thrown in. It looks cramped, nasty
and cheap. It's clearly a rush job and unless it changes radically I
can't see it surviving.

thelondonpaper: Like

London Lite: Dislike

THE VIEW FROM THE STREET

- ANDREW SMITH, 28, ACCOUNTANT

I don't normally take one as I expect them to be rubbish as they're
free. I normally buy The Independent to pass the time on the way home. I
would definitely never pick up London Lite as it has a vendetta against
my football club, QPR. We call it the Sub Standard. It gets everything
wrong about QPR and has it in for the chairman.

London Lite: Dislike

- ROBYN REID, 24, OFFICE WORKER

I picked up thelondonpaper in Holborn from a street vendor. I've also
got London Lite. There's not much between them. I don't buy paid-for
newspapers and I normally read Metro. I would pick up both new papers
again and take them home for a better read. I don't mind which -
whichever one I can get my hands on.

- MARK WOODTHORPE-SMITH, 28, RISK CONSULTANT

I got both papers from vendors outside Moorgate station. I preferred
thelondonpaper. I was aware of both from internet news websites. I would
still purchase the Standard on certain days, for example, for the Homes
& Property section. I like having the choice of free papers and wouldn't
consider there to be too many as long as they are all produced from
sustainable resources. London Lite looks like a freebie, and
thelondonpaper looks like a publication you might actually pay money
for. They're not too lowbrow; you would expect to pay money for a more
detailed read. It's nice to have an entertaining "light" read on the way
home from work.

thelondonpaper: Like

- CAMILLA MCLEAN, 29, PR CONSULTANT

London Lite was handed to me - I wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. I
knew they were introducing a new paper to compete with the Standard. It
looks quite like a regional, trashy paper. I would still buy the
Standard in preference to London Lite. I find if I've paid for a paper
then I'm more likely to read it and I also know it's going to cover news
that hasn't been in the morning papers.

Evening Standard: Like

- JESSICA STEVENS, 39, LITERARY AGENT

There's a really good layout on the front cover of thelondonpaper. I
like the typeface and the colour-coded sections direct you around the
paper easily. You're not bombarded by the amount of different stories.
The paper isn't too busy, the advertising is fairly unobtrusive, which
is surprising, as you'd expect there to be a lot of it, this being a
free paper. It feels quite like a magazine.

I don't feel bombarded by the number of freesheets there are now,
although the widened choice still won't stop me buying the Standard. I
rely on and trust the Standard's intelligent reporting, although perhaps
thelondonpaper is an occasional lighter alternative.

thelondonpaper: Like.