Metropolis Daily

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The logo of Metropolis Daily

Metropolis Daily (Traditional Chinese: 都市日報) is the Hong Kong edition of Metro (Metro International), which publishes free newspapers around the world with 25 editions in 16 countries in 14 languages. It is the first free newspaper in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong version was first launched on April 15, 2002; it is distributed for free in the racks located in 49 Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations except the Airport Station.

According to the Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations in September 2002, the daily circulation of the newspaper was 302,197 copies, making it the third largest daily newspaper in Hong Kong. The paper is distributed from Monday to Friday (except for public holidays), by hand or from the newspaper stands in 49 MTR stations and 11 other key central locations, such as big shopping malls owned by MTR Corporation Limited like Paradise Mall, Telford Plaza, and Luk Yeung Galleria (綠楊坊). Since it is free of charge and easily accessible, many people like to get one on their way to school or work. The paper attracts a younger generation of readers with a great purchasing power likewise, therefore many advertisers are interested in promoting their products on Metropolis Daily. The operating costs of the paper are mainly covered by the classified advertisements in the newspaper.

However, the influence of the paper is not yet significant. Though around one tenth size of other newspapers printing local first-hand news reported by fresh journalists, its main news sources are actually the television, radio news, press releases and wired news. As one Metropolis' reporter said, "Nobody seems to know that we made an exclusive story."

The paper is in Chinese in most parts, together with an English international section. According to Metropolis, the paper can be read in a "19-minute commute" as the articles inside are usually short and laconic; readers can scan through the paper so quickly that they can grab a brief understanding of the news within minutes. Although the paper is a tabloid, i.e. a minute-sized newspaper giving the stories in a condensed form, it includes many sections, which make the paper very rich in contents. These sections include:

local news (including one page written in Simplified Chinese);
mainland news;
international news;
finance;
sports;
entertainment;
side stories;
English news digest;
editorial column;
television program schedule; and
film section.

Readers can read the on-line edition of Metropolis all over the world by simply registering as users at its official site, and it is totally free. Besides, there is also a club called "Club Metro" offering discounts in films, sports and travel to its members. Readers can enjoy these benefits once they have joined the club. There are 700,000 worldwide members in this club.