Associated fights back with new freesheet

Martin Clarke, roving executive at Associated, is overseeing the project. Clark was launch editor of the Standard Lite and most recently oversaw the creation of The Irish Daily Mail.
The move – designed to protect sales of the Evening Standard, which has a circulation of just more than 300,000 copies – could see the Standard Lite scrapped to make way for an entertainment-driven, free afternoon paper.
The Evening Standard will remain paid-for, and may even increase its 40p cover price. Thelondonpaper hits the streets on 18 September. Distributors will hand out 400,000 copies in Zone 1. Associated's freesheet is likely to appear at the same time and will also be distributed by hand.
The Evening Standard's recently announced change of edition times, which come into effect in September, would create a slot for the new paper to be printed. The mid-morning West End edition will be scrapped, leaving a gap between the 9.00am and 2pm editions.
The name ‘London Lite' was registered at the patent office last year by an Associated employee.