BostonNow: Dagsbrun pulls plug
After selling Danish free daily Nyhedsavisen for 1 kroner, Boston free daily BostonNow is the second casualty of the Icelandic economic crisis.
BostonNow owner Dagsbrun closed down the paper Monday April 14. Financial problems of Dagsbrun in Iceland, which is face a severe financial crisis with high interest rates and high inflation as well, is the reason for the closure.
BostonNow was launched a year ago, and competing with the Boston Metro edition. The US editions of Metro (including New York and Philadelphia) are up for sale already for some months.
The paper was started by Russel Pergament, who also was involved in starting Metro in USA. BostonNow was a forerunner in including bloggers in the creation of content for the paper. According to Pergament, interviewed by the Boston Herald, BostonNow was ‘healthy’ and ‘on track’ moving towards profitability in three years as expected.
BostonNow had a circulation of 119,000; the paper employed 50 people. The BostonNow website has the official announcement (with many comments).
Dagsbrun is still owner of Icelandic market leader Frettabladed, a free, 7 days a week home-delivered paper in Iceland.