Russian billionare sparks media revolution in London (News Feature)

By Anna Tomforde Oct 12, 2009, 16:18 GMT

   London - 'Pick up your free copy of the Standard here,' said the billboard at the abandoned newspaper kiosk as London's Evening Standard became a free newspaper on Monday.

   The Standard's move to abandon its cover price of 50 pence (80 US cents) marks a milestone in the paper's 180-year-history and could signal the start of a media revolution if other publications are forced to follow suit, experts believe.

   The man behind the change is Alexander Lebedev, the Russian billionaire who bought the Evening Standard for a mere pound from its British publishers in January.

   The Standard had been under increased pressure from free newspapers in London in recent years. Its circulation fell from a peak of 600,000 to 250,000.

   Lebedev, chairman of Evening Standard Ltd, believes he can double the Standard's circulation and cover staff and production costs from advertising in an experiment that will be closely watched in the media world.

   'The Standard has been producing exceptional journalism since 1827 and that is not going to change under my ownership,' he said. 'The London Evening Standard is the first leading quality newspaper to go free and I am sure others will follow,' added Lebedev.     

He recently revealed that he relied heavily on the Standard for information when he was assigned as an agent to the former Soviet Embassy in London in the 1980s.

   Lebedev now holds a majority share in the Standard, along with a string of Russian and international interests, including a stake in Russian airline Aeroflot. He also owns Russia's liberal Novaya Gazeta newspaper.     

'Today is an historic day for the London Evening Standard as we become the first quality newspaper to go free,' read an editorial Monday, describing the decision as a 'pioneering move.'

   The Evening Standard, London's only evening newspaper, was established in 1827 and belonged to the empire of patrician press baron Lord Rothermere.

    With free newspaper websites posing a growing threat to the printed version, the Standard experiment - if successful - could lead to other quality newspapers deciding to go 'free,' experts believe.

   A survey published Monday showed that 28 per cent of Britain's newspaper readers have cut back spending on magazines and newspapers in the economic downturn in favour of free online content.

   However, the YouGov survey also showed that there is little appetite among consumers to pay for online subscription services.

   Only 11 per cent said they would pay for online services, and just three per cent indicated they would return to previous spending levels on newspapers if their economic situation improved.