Brisbane picks up free newspaper

Launched this week, the paper has a print run of 40,000 copies. General manager Campbell Reid said that he would review distribution numbers over the next few months. “We want to see how the mX habit in Brisbane settles in,” he said. Printed at the Queensland Newspapers’ print centre, Murarrie, mX is distributed from 2.30pm each Monday through to Friday at 90 distribution points across the Brisbane CBD.

The move to expand mX to QLD was described by News Limited as a response to the publication’s popularity in NSW and Victoria. “In both Melbourne and Sydney, mX has established itself as a lively, informative read, building a dedicated readership. I am sure it will quickly prove successful in Brisbane,” said John Hartigan, News Limited chairman and chief executive. However, Reid said that there were currently no plans to launch mX in any other states.

Keeping it all in the News Limited family, mX will be edited by Neil Melloy, former chief-of-staff at The Courier-Mail. Melloy said that the Brisbane mX would contain the latest news, sport, business, entertainment, travel and gossip which would extend beyond the train line. “mX is more than a commuter newspaper,” he said. “It is a newspaper for young Brisbanites who work hard, have active social lives and want to know what’s going on in their city and the world.”

Young people and newspapers don’t often go hand in hand, but Malloy believes that mX is proof that when news is vibrant, people will read it. “It is a challenge for newspapers worldwide to attract new readers, especially young readers,” he said. “mX has proven its ability to build a readership amongst this group who rarely, if ever, read newspapers. Indeed, from our pre-launch briefings it is clear advertisers welcome mX’s Brisbane launch and its continuing roll-out across Australia.”