The newspaper will cost €0.50, about half of the traditional price for paid papers.

"We can call this newspaper a sort of hybrid," the president of the Association for Mass Media Investigation (AIMC), Carlos Lozano, told AFP.

The paper counts 64 pages, compared to freesheets’ average 20 pages. On the other hand, Publico will feature more graphics, larger pictures and shorter articles than paid papers. Innovations in Newspapers calls it a quality viewspaper.

Its target readership is young urban residents who began reading newspapers with the arrival of freesheets, as well as regular newspaper readers who seek complementary coverage.

The rise of the free press has changed the media landscape in Spain, as four out of the 10 most read papers are freesheets. But paid newspapers’ circulation has remained stable, so it is essential for paid newspapers to capture some of the freebie-reading audience.

“The paid press attracts relatively older people, of a higher social class. The free newspapers have expanded this base, adding younger people, those of a lower class, immigrants," said Lozano.

So Publico is looking to tap in to both markets, with coverage that will focus on science, arts and sports, and have less emphasis on politics. It remains to be seen whether the hybrid model can equally satisfy readers from across the demographic spectrum.

Most representative of this approach is the fact that Publico's young editor, Ignacio Esolar, 31, is one of the country's most influential bloggers. Escolar could be setting an example by becoming one of the first bloggers to be editor-in-chief of a national paid-for paper. 

Source: AFP through IFRA Executive News Service