I’m in Sydney tonight and picked up a copy of mX, the free daily newspaper from News Limited, at Wynyard station. It fascinates me how many people approach the mX distribution team for their free newspaper. mX is part of the evening ritual, the habit in ingrained. Only rarely do the distribution team I saw approach a commuter – this is a shift from when the newspaper was first launched in Sydney.
mX must have an impact on paid newspaper sales in that it is educating people that mX is all they need in a newspaper. Every copy given away is a message that newspapers should be free. Newsagents ought to head from their shops to Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane at rush hour to see mX distribution first hand. To many newsagents it will be alarming.
Today’s mX announces a swag of new distribution points in St Leonards, Bondi Junction, Kings Cross and Edgecliff. The story on page two says the new locations have come “after we received thousands of requests from workers and commuters in those areas who had seen mX, but had not been able to get their hands on a copy”. The article also announces that they are installing new stands for self service – made available through an agreement with CityRail.
mX is a successful newspaper franchise across our three largest cities. It will be interesting to see where it goes next or whether the current offering evolves in the existing cities.
I often travel on the ferries in Sydney. Generally, mX isn’t distributed at the wharves. But I see people looking around the boats to see if anyone has left a copy behind and, if they have, making the effort to go and pick it up and read it. People do want to spend time reading this product, unlike the free newspapers I was used to in the UK.
But who cleans up the mess from the discarded papers on the trains or are the pages allowed to fly away and and land in the Harbour?
Gavin – mX is distributed at Circular Quay.
Fred – I agree, mess is a problem.It is interesting that on the masthead as well as in the paper they have a strong recycle pitch including this: “pick me up, take me home – to read and recycle, that’s always mX cool”.
I really want that article from kenny about his experienced adventure in the train. the article was in the friday 16th may 2008 mx newspaper