I nearly died when I heard this:
Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev is to make the London Evening Standard a free newspaper later this month, after more than 180 years as a paid-for title. The 50p newspaper, which is 75.1% owned by Lebedev and 24.9% owned by Associated newspapers, will go free from 12 October.
And so did several people working on the paper, it appears. Full story here, plus implications discussed by Steve Busfield and Roy Greenslade. What does it mean for the vendors, I wonder? What about the billboards? If London Lite closes as a result, what will my son Frank do for a holiday job? And so on...
Update, 17:22 Just heard that Standard editor Geordie Greig will be appearing on Sunday's Politics Show
