''Metro'' () is a free Dutch newspaper, distributed daily since 1999, mostly to commuters in high-traffic areas. Formerly owned by

Metro International Metro International is a Swedish media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the freesheet newspaper ''Metro''. The company was founded by Per Andersson, and started as a subsidiary of the Modern Times Group along with Viasat Broadcast ...

, in August 2012 the paper was taken over by the Telegraaf Media Group (TMG). At the time of acquisition, TMG already published another free Dutch newspaper, '' Spits''. Later Spits merged into Metro.

History

''Metro'' follows the format of other free newspapers by

, the first one of which appeared in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1995. The Dutch ''Metro'' was the fourth of those, and first appeared on 21 June 1999; it is published five days a week, and for a brief period had a Saturday edition as well. Separate editions for

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

appeared in October 2004 and April 2005. The business model is the same as that of the other Metro International publications: news is reported in a relatively brief fashion, all income is derived from advertisements, and the papers are distributed mainly in train stations, besides in supermarkets, shopping malls, universities, and parking garages. In 2004 it began distribution in post offices and McDonald's restaurants. The first editor in chief was Jelle Leenes, who was succeeded in 2002 by Jan Dijkgraaf. From 2006 to 2008 the paper was led by Rutger Huizenga, and since 2008 by Robert van Brandwijk, former editor of the '' Algemeen Dagblad''. Until his death in 2004, Theo van Gogh wrote a daily column in ''Metro'', which was regularly criticized for its commentary on, among others, Muslims (he famously referred to Muslims as "goat fuckers" in his ''Metro'' column) and Christians. His successor is

Ebru Umar Ebru Umar (, ; born 20 May 1970) is a Dutch columnist of Turkish descent. Under the influence of Theo van Gogh, she gave up a career in management and became a columnist, first for van Gogh's website and, after he was assassinated, as his successo ...

, a Dutch writer of Turkish descent. The acquisition by TGM was prompted, according to Per Mikael Jensen, owner of

, by a decrease in advertisement revenue. The paper's circulation had already been lowered by four percent to 463 thousand in the first quarter of 2012, and personnel cuts were expected following the takeover. TMG announced that it looked to save money by combining printing and distribution. According to TMG's Herman van Campenhout, that the two are owned by the same company will increase the difference between them. ''Metro'' is the country's second-largest newspaper; combined, the two papers have an estimated readership of 2.3 million, according to TMG.

Chief editors

* Robert van Brandwijk, 2008–2016

Circulation

* 1999: 270,000 * 2000: 300,000 * 2002: 309,000 * 2004: 299,000 * 2006: 465,000 * 2008: 533,000 * 2009: 530,000 * 2012: 463,000 * 2017: 267,158

References

External links

* {{Dutch newspapers Daily newspapers published in the Netherlands Newspapers established in 1999