Guess the Metro really is in trouble. Without a buyout from the Examiner, they are cutting staff positions, including a sports editor, and the publisher has resigned.
People make fun of the Metro, but it's a part of any commuters' daily life. Most people get their news first from the Metro and some even become buddies with their morning vendors.
The New York Times Company, which owns the Globe, has a 49 percent stake in the Metro. The publisher, Stuart Layne, told the Herald that he quit because "The Globe and Metro wanted to take the paper in a different direction."
Here's what Layne told the Globe: "The Globe would like to be more involved in the operations. I believe that the goal is to utilize the Globe resources to create better efficiencies. They feel they can take better advantage of resources at the Globe - anywhere from sales to IT."
What different direction? Could news be any zipper and more bite-size than the Metro? This could also pose a problem for the Globe. If the Metro becomes more like the Globe, and people know they can get the Metro for free, then why should they pay for the Globe?
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"People make fun of the Metro, but it's a part of any commuters' daily life." I'l tell you what part it is of *this* commuter's daily life: an utter aggravation. From the vendors who block subway exits in the morning to the ankle-deep litter of newsprint on my bus home at the end of the day, the METRO has nothing to offer me but a deteriorated quality of life. It cannot go out of business and be gone from the T soon enough for me.
It's true, though. I remember when the Metro first came out. I laughed at it. Like some sort of inept interloper trying to butt in on the well-covered Boston paper market. But then I found myself reading the damned thing every day, because I had nothing better to do while waiting for the T, and it was there, free and ample, and had eye-catching yet valid news headlines on it. So despite working for an international news agency, I was getting my daily morning news from the Metro. Of course, it didn't replace real news, but it was an adequate day starter.
Heck, I could use the Metro out here in Seattle as I wait for the express bus in the mornings.
Maybe you should try picking up a book, Romulus.