Description
London Evening Standard is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after being purchased by Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, the paper ended a 180-year history of paid circulation and became a free newspaper, doubling its circulation as part of a change in its business plan. Emily Sheffield became editor in July 2020 but resigned in October 2021.
Freesheet and supplements
On 14 December 2004, Associated Newspapers launched a Monday–Friday freesheet edition of the Evening Standard called Standard Lite to help boost circulation. This had 48 pages, compared with about 80 in the main paper, which also had a supplement on most days.
In August 2006, the freesheet was relaunched as London Lite. It was designed to be especially attractive to younger female readers and featured a wide range of lifestyle articles, but less news and business news than the main paper. It was initially only available between 11.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. at Evening Standard vendors and in the central area, but later became available in the evening from its street distributors. With the sale of the Evening Standard, but not the London Lite, to Alexander Lebedev on 21 January 2009, the ownership links between the Standard and the Lite were broken.
On Fridays, the newspaper includes a free glossy lifestyle magazine, ES (launched as the Evening Standard Magazine in 2009), and the circulation was increased to 350,000 in September 2014. This has moved from more general articles to concentrate on glamour, with features on the rich, powerful and famous. On Wednesdays, selected areas offer a free copy of the Homes & Property supplement, edited by Janice Morley, which includes London property listings as well as articles from lifestyle journalists including Barbara Chandler, Katie Law, and Alison Cork.
An entertainment guide supplement Metro Life (previously called Hot Tickets) was launched in September 2002. This was a what's-on guide with listings of cinemas and theatres in and around London and was given away on Thursdays. It was discontinued on 1 September 2005.
