Trinity Mirror today confirmed plans to launch a free sister paper to its weekly title, the Birmingham Post.
Starting next week, the Birmingham Post Lite will be delivered free to around 18,000 homes in the south Birmingham areas of Harborne and Moseley.
The launch follows the closure by Trinity Mirror of its local glossy lifestyle magazine, Living, and a diversion of resources to combat the launch of an independent weekly newspaper in the area.
The Birmingham Press, published by local newspaper entrepreneur Chris Bullivant, is also set to launch next week in south Birmingham with a mixed paid-for and free distribution of around 25,000.
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Confirmation of the launch today by Trinity Mirror, which will publish its Lite paper through it BPM Media subsidiary, ends a week where news of its plans began to emerge through a series of stories published by former Post editor Marc Reeves on TheBusinessdesk.com.
Trinity Mirror said the new Lite title would contain a selection of the Birmingham Post’s editorial content along with its property magazine pullout.
The new paper will not carry any of the specialised business and financial news published in the paid-for version of the Post.
Trinity Mirror said it would instead combine south Birmingham news with features and leisure content.
John Griffith, managing director of BPM Media, said: “Birmingham Post Lite will deliver a quality title to a quality audience and we are confident it will prove hugely attractive to advertisers and build on the successful relaunch of the Post in 2009.
“The paid-for Birmingham Post is an indispensable product for its professional and business audience in Birmingham with up to 200 pages in total each week.
“Birmingham Post Lite will offer a quality audience a more general read of news and features but delivered by the same professional team and all to the same high standards.”
The Birmingham Post became a weekly newspaper in November last year switching from daily morning distribution as Trinity’s Birmingham Mail, traditionally a evening paper, shifted to overnight printing.
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