UK daily newspaper 'New Day' folds after just 10 weeks

LONDON (UNITED KINGDOM) (AFP) - 

Britain's first new national daily newspaper in 30 years is to shut, its owners said Thursday, just over two months after it was launched promising to prove that print news can survive the Internet age.

Trinity Mirror group said it was "disappointing" that the New Day would print its last edition on Friday -- just weeks after its launch on February 29 -- but circulation had fallen "below our expectations".

"We have tried everything we could but sadly we just haven't reached the sales figures we needed to make it work financially," editor Alison Phillips wrote in a message to staff.

"There clearly were many people who truly loved the idea of a different kind of newspaper which spoke to them. But the reality was we didn't have enough of them on a daily basis."

The daily's launch had been a bold move in a climate of declining newspaper sales and falling advertising revenue, and came after The Independent daily and the Independent on Sunday moved online.

It promised something different from the usual newspaper fare, with upbeat content free from political bias, aimed at 35- to 55-year-olds and especially women.

It had a target of selling 200,000 copies a day, but reports suggest sales fell to about 40,000.

Trinity Mirror, which publishes more than 150 newspaper titles across Britain and Ireland including the Daily Mirror tabloid, as well as more than 100 websites, said the project had provided "new insights".

"Although The New Day has received many supportive reviews and built a strong following on Facebook, the circulation for the title is below our expectations," it said.

"As a result, we have decided to close the title on 6 May 2016.

"Whilst disappointing, the launch and subsequent closure have provided new insights into enhancing our newspapers and a number of these opportunities will be considered over time."

© 2016 AFP