By: (AP) A media company owned by billionaire investor Philip Anschutz said Wednesday it will launch a free, six-day-a-week newspaper in the Washington, D.C., area on Feb. 1.
The Washington Examiner, a tabloid, will replace three suburban newspapers that Anschutz's Clarity Media Group, bought from Journal Newspapers Inc. last year for an undisclosed sum.
The Examiner will be published Sunday through Friday and will tailor some news and opinion pages for residents in the District, suburban Maryland, and northern Virginia.
The company said home delivery will also be available in parts of Washington, a rarity for a free newspaper in a big media market. It is planning an initial daily circulation of about 260,000.
The newspaper's launch comes nearly a year after Anschutz, founder of Qwest Communications, bought the San Francisco Examiner and two Bay Area twice-weekly independent newspapers. The company may seek to add other papers in the months ahead, Clarity President Ryan McKibben said.
The Washington area is a competitive media market with two daily newspapers -- The Washington Post and The Washington Times -- and a free weekly tabloid, The Washington City Paper.
Anschutz's $5.2 billion fortune was built largely on investments in oil, railroads, telecommunications, movie theaters, and sports. He lives in Denver.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here