The Metro group, worldwide distributor of free newspapers has announced that they are shutting their Spanish edition, affecting 7 cities across the country.

Metro International has said that the decision has been made due to the "unsustainable losses" which its publications are encountering in Spain, although the Spanish Metro is not as loss-making as some of its other free competitors in the country. However, the company said that "the worsening Spanish economic downturn, which during the beginning of 2009 has resulted in a collapsing advertising market" means that continuing to publish is not a viable option.

Another free daily hit by news of its imminent departure is the Baltimore Examiner, which according to vice President and CEO Ryan McKibben is unable to continue due to "the economic dynamics that have ravaged the print media industry".

Source: The Guardian, Baltimore Sun