Fiktiv UK - DMGT - Metro

The Metro is the United Kingdom's highest-circulation print newspaper. It is published in tabloid format by DMG Media. The free newspaper is distributed from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays and the period between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day inclusive) mornings on trains and buses, and at railway/Underground stations, airports and hospitals across selected urban areas of England, Wales and Scotland. Copies are also handed out to pedestrians.

Metro is owned by Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT), part of the same media group as the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, but in some areas Metro operates as a franchise with a local newspaper publisher, rather than as a wholly owned concern. While being a sister paper to the conservative Daily Mail, the newspaper has never endorsed any political party or candidate, and claims to take a neutral political stance in its reporting.

The Metro free newspaper concept originated in Sweden, where a publication of the same name was launched in 1995 by Metro International. British newspaper executives Jonathan Harmsworth and Murdoch MacLennan, from DMGT, were reportedly inspired by the idea and flew to Stockholm on a 'fact-finding mission' with a view to developing their own version. There were also reports in the late 1990s that both Metro International and Rupert Murdoch's News International were considering launching free newspapers in the UK that might prove a commercial threat to DMGT's businesses.

DMGT subsequently launched Metro, using the same name as Metro International's publications but with a different logo on Tuesday 16 March 1999. This UK version of Metro had no relation to Metro International or its sister newspapers in other countries. Metro was launched initially as a London-only newspaper with an original print run of 85,000 copies, which were distributed via dedicated bins in London Underground stations. The newspaper was produced at DMGT's printworks and office complex at Surrey Quays in southeast London, away from the company's main newspaper office in Kensington, west London.

In the years following its launch, the paper's distribution was gradually expanded to other major UK cities, including Manchester and Birmingham. By February 2003, Metro had become operationally profitable for the first time. Its reach was extended further in 2004, becoming available in more urban areas, including Nottingham, Bristol and Bath.

Metro's circulation continued to rise in the following years, although readership temporarily dipped after the 7 July 2005 London bombings. There was a 1.8% decline - the equivalent of around 9,000 readers - in copies picked up in the weeks following the attacks due to a reduction in the number of people using London's public transport network, coupled with the temporary closure of some London Underground lines where Metro was distributed.

Following several years of national expansion, in 2006 the newspaper's production was moved to DMGT's main newspaper offices at Northcliffe House in Kensington, west London. That same year the newspaper expanded further, launching in Cardiff and Liverpool in joint venture deals with Trinity Mirror.

At the time of its 10th anniversary in 2009, the newspaper was distributed in 16 "major" UK cities and its circulation had grown to 1.3 million. Despite the increase in readership, that same year management also closed five regional Metro offices in Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham and Bristol, which were responsible for producing regionalised arts, entertainment and food pages, citing "challenging economic conditions".

By 2011, Metro's distribution network had expanded to more than 50 cities in the UK. That year media commentator Roy Greenslade said the publication was now making "bumper profits" and dubbed it "Britain's most successful national newspaper".

The majority of the newspaper's content is produced at Northcliffe House in Kensington, west London. There are no regional editions within England and Wales, except for occasional differences in sports and arts content catered to specific local audiences. A separate, small team produces a Scottish edition of Metro; however, often the only substantial difference between the two versions is the front page.

The newspaper is divided into three main sections—news, features and sport. The news section includes Guilty Pleasures, which typically contains two or four pages of showbiz and entertainment news, a letters page, and a page dedicated for business news. A popular feature of the letters page is Rush Hour Crush, in which readers send in anonymous messages to fellow users of public transport who they consider attractive. The daily column has led to at least one marriage. The news section also features occasional feature columns from political pundits. However, while offering analysis, these columns do not typically express endorsements of political positions or candidates, thus not being considered as op-ed columns as in other newspapers.

The features section contains a mix of articles on travel, homes, style, and health, science, as well as arts coverage and entertainment listings. The puzzles page currently features a crossword and Sudoku.