And here's another thing about free newspapers (as part of I Hate Free Newspapers Week): because they're free, people have no sense of ownership about them. If you've forked out 40-70p for a paper you tend to take it with you, but if you've taken it in the same way you would a advertising flyer (hmmm...) you treat it in a different way. This means people just leave them wherever they fall, be it the seat of the train or somewhere on the station, where it gets blown about and eventually lies sodden, waiting for a late-running commuter to slip on as they dash for their train.
I'll admit it can be handy that the papers are left on trains, especially tubes, if you need something to focus on to stay awake during your journey home when too drunk to read something proper, but the amount of extra rubbish they generate is a real nuisance. And the publishers aren't going to try too hard to get them cleared up as they rely on the fact that each copy of the paper is read by more than one person to sell their advertising space for higher rates.
Tomorrow I think I'll have something to say about the content of the freebies. Hold on to your hats...
On the discman today: AM - This Heat This Heat PM - This Heat Deceit
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