More Free Weekly Classifieds

If you€™re in New York this summer and happen to be exiting one of many high-traffic transportation centers on a Thursday afternoon, you€™ll have a 1.9% chance of being handed a copy of the New York Times€™ new free classified tabloid €" Marketplace Weekly (not to be confused with the public radio program Marketplace).

So€™s not to make this just a classified paper, Marketplace Weekly will be €œsupplemented by articles culled from The Times's Job Market, Real Estate, Automotive, Business and Dining Out sections, among others€ according to the press release. We wonder how many of the 1.9 percent of commuters will fold up Marketplace and carry it home unless it is loaded with listings and reviews of upcoming weekend entertainment, cultural and recreational activities. If we€™re right €" and it would be hard to imagine any other scenario €" we're watching one of the world€™s elite newspaper companies launch what amounts to (dare we say) a weekly alternative newspaper. Sounds to us a lot like a new Village Voice has sprung on the streets of New York. Only time will tell if this is a flash in the pan or a trend to expect across America.