mX (newspaper)
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| mX | |
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| Type | Free daily newspaper |
| Format | Tabloid |
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| Owner | News Corporation |
| Editor | Melbourne: Stephen Acott Sydney: Brett De Vine Brisbane: Neil Melloy |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Price | Free |
| Headquarters |  Melbourne, Australia |
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| Website: www.mxnet.com.au | |
mX is an Australian free afternoon daily newspaper in the cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, owned and produced by News Corporation. Targeted at commuters, its main channels of distribution are inner-city railway stations, tram and bus stops, and major CBD intersections.
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[edit] Beginnings
The first mX was published in Melbourne on 6 February 2001, hoping to capitalise on the Metro format, popular in Europe. The paper contains lighter news and sports articles, often containing strange stories and facts from around the world (under the headings "Nice One" and, "What The?"). The newspaper's approach is a much greater focus on entertainment than news than broadsheet newspapers, or even other tabloids.
Melbourne Express, published by rival Fairfax Media, was this paper's competitor. Initially it used the same format, although it was released in the mornings rather than the afternoon. It began publication the day before mX, but was soon overtaken due to mX's much broader use of colour, its greater availability, and its lighter tone. In addition, mX had no explanation at its launch, allowing readers to assume that it stood for "Melbourne Express" and that it was the paper known by that name. Melbourne Express ceased publication on 7 September 2001.
The broad success of mX contributed to reduced sales of the afternoon editions of News Corporation stablemate the Herald Sun. After a few years, these editions were scrapped, save for the occasional special event.
[edit] Sydney and Brisbane editions
Following the success of mX in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane editions were since launched.
On 4 July 2005, mX launched a Sydney edition. Sydney City Council is considering a tender to lease Sydney footpaths to News Corporation for $362,000 annually, and charge other street presses a similar fee if they use the same location more than 40 times a year. Other newspapers, such as Green Left Weekly that are distributed by sellers on streets, are concerned about the possibility that they may be forced to also pay such fees.[1]
The Brisbane edition of mX was launched on 5 March 2007, with an expected distribution of 40,000 copies per day. [2]
In the 29 November 2006 Melbourne issue, a map was shown saying that mX was no longer available at Southern Cross Station due to an agreement between the station and Fairfax,[citation needed] publishers of the The Age and defunct Melbourne Express. However this arrangement seems to have been reversed, with mX distributors handing out copies once again at the Collins Street and Bourke Street entrances to Southern Cross Station from early 2007, and permanent street stands, similar to those throughout the Melbourne CBD, now in place at these entrances.
[edit] Format and Content
Being a commuter newspaper, mX is much thinner than other daily newspapers. Its tabloid size makes it easier to read on public transport, and its news coverage is more topical and sourced from News Limited major daily newspapers.
Central themes of most articles include US celebrity gossip, new product lines, controversial events, rumours, celebrity trivia, and readers' gripes, amongst other attention-grabbing stories. Large photographs often appear without any related story, only a caption describing their contents; conversely news stories are rarely accompanied by photographs. Small, large and full page advertisements are also a major contributor to the paper's overall make-up.
[edit] Sections
- News – including the next day's weather forecast
- Sport – immediately after News
- Brainwave – containing puzzles such as a crossword and Sudoku, and a horoscope under the heading of "Should I get out of bed tomorrow?"
- Talk – an opinion page that publishes readers' written and SMSed letters, and a vox pop survey
- Flicks – that night's movie listings
- The box – television reports of programs screening that night
- Program – that night's (6:00pm - midnight) television listing
- Citybeat - a weekly entertainment section with an emphasis on all genres of popular music; also contains CD and movie reviews, band interviews and trivia
- Goss & glam – women's magazine style entertainment news, last two pages
- Quickie - a short interview with famous person
- careerone - mainly job advertisements; sponsored by the web site of the same name
[edit] Staples
Some mX editions have been stapled, as they tend to remain contained and not blow around as much.
[edit] Theming
Occasionally the mX masthead is modified to capitalize on major events, such as a tennis ball and racquet during the Australian Open, and love hearts during Valentine's Day.[citation needed] In the lead-up to the 2007 federal election the front page of each issue bore a "disclaimer" warning of the number of election stories (if any) contained within.[citation needed]
[edit] References
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007) |
- ^ Gibbons, Lawrence, Bill of rights needed, <http://www.greenleft.org.au/2005/642/33797>. Retrieved on 24 July 2007
- ^ mX spreads to Brisbane, mX (Melbourne) 5 March 2007, page 4.
