Independent research has shown that 8 out of 10 readers prefer the Newcastle Evening Chronicle’s free morning Metro paper to the Morning News – the first UK venture of the Swedish Modern Times Group.

Alison Hastings, editor of the Evening Chronicle, is delighted with the news and says sales of the paid-for evening title have not been damaged by the move into the free morning market.

“Our strategy is to provide added value. With the 40-page Metro we concentrate on national and international news in competiton with the national dailies,” she said.

The Metro, produced under licence from Associated Newspapers which launched the London Metro a year ago this week, came out on January 11, about a week ahead of the Morning News.

“We believe there is plenty of room to include showbiz news and light, entertaining features as well as a hard news service – and that’s what we are offering,” said Ms Hastings.

She continued: “If you want to know about what’s happening at the end of your street, or you want to read the latest news from Newcastle Football Club – the only place you are still going to get that is the Evening Chronicle.”

Ms Hastings also pointed out that neither the Metro or the Morning News were carrying much local advertising.

“The Evening Chronicle has a strong advertising platform to work from, and we know many readers enjoy reading adverts as well,” she said.

The Evening Chronicle has a strong tradition as a campaigning paper. It recently led page one, plus two inside pages, on the rogue builders currently preying on householders in the North East.

The paper reported that cowboy builders had sparked 1,200 complaints in the past 10 months.

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