City A.M.
{{short description|British business newspaper}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name = City AM
| logo = City A.M. logo.svg
| logo_size =
| logo_border = yes
| logo_alt =
| image = City A.M. front page, 4 May 2012.jpg
| image_size =
| image_border = yes
| image_alt =
| caption = A City AM front page from May 2012
| motto = Business With Personality
| type = Freesheet daily newspaper
| format = Tabloid
| owner = THG plc
| founders = {{Unbulleted list | Lawson Muncaster | Jens Torpe}}
| publisher =
| chiefeditor = Christian May
| maneditor = Rupert Hargreaves
| newseditor = Emmanuel Nwosu
| opeditor = Alys Denby
| sportseditor = Frank Dalleres
| foundation = {{start date and age|2005|09}}
| political =
| language =
| ceased publication =
| relaunched =
| headquarters = {{ubl|City AM 6th Floor, 107 Cheapside, EC2V 6DN}}
| publishing_city = London
| publishing_country = United Kingdom
| circulation = 67,938
| circulation_date = February 2025
| circulation_ref = {{cite web |title=City AM |url=https://www.abc.org.uk/product/10156 |publisher=Audit Bureau of Circulations |date=11 March 2025 |access-date=30 March 2025}}
| readership =
| sister newspapers =
| ISSN = 2516-5445
| eISSN = 2516-5453
| oclc =
| website = {{URL|cityam.com}}
}}
City AM is a free business-focused newspaper distributed in and around London, England, with an accompanying website. In January 2025, it had a monthly online readership of 4m.{{Cite web |title=Challenge Validation |url=https://www.similarweb.com/website/cityam.com/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240604021901/https://www.similarweb.com/website/cityam.com/ |archive-date=2024-06-04 |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=www.similarweb.com}} In 2023 it had a print circulation of 67,714.{{cite news |title=Cult Beauty owner THG buys City AM newspaper | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66311244 |work=BBC News |date=26 July 2023 |accessdate=28 July 2023}}
History
City AM was launched in September 2005. Its launch editor was former Sunday Times and Sunday Express journalist David Parsley. He was succeeded by Allister Heath, who joined in February 2008 and was editor for six years. He was previously the editor of The Business, a weekly magazine which closed in February 2008. David Hellier, formerly of The Independent and the Daily and Sunday Express, replaced Heath and served until 2015 when he was replaced by Christian May. Andy Silvester replaced May in November 2020, relaunching the newspaper and website after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Content
The news section is primarily made up of business, financial and economic stories, as well as political and regulatory stories relevant to its readership. The paper regularly runs interviews of business leaders. The news pages also contain a variety of corporate and economic comment. In recent years, the newspaper has expanded its coverage away from purely financial stories towards wider reporting on the business environment at large, and has significantly increased its coverage of tech, fintech and hospitality businesses in particular. The lifestyle pages cover a vast range of subject matters, including travel, restaurant reviews, food, fashion, technology, books, arts, entertainment, motoring and property. The sport section reports and comments on all the major events and games, with a bias towards sports of interest to London-based professionals.
The paper's philosophy is broadly supportive of the free-market economy, of capitalism, of private enterprise and of the City of London and those who work in it. In recent years, the paper has also been more outspoken than other UK newspapers on the need to build more housing, liberalise immigration law and support the London economy.
The paper's front page is dominated by a large capitalised banner headline reminiscent of a traditional UK popular newspaper. The rest of the news stories, as well as the commentary and features, come in bite-sized chunks, in a modern compact-style format illustrated with images, bullet points and diagrams.
The newspaper includes a debate column in the comments section, which involves politicians with an opposite view on a subject, such as on Brexit or economic reform, give short answers explaining their case.{{Cite news |last1=Lyons |first1=Gerard |last2=Bateman |first2=Victoria |url=https://www.cityam.com/debate-should-city-optimistic-2018/ |title=Debate: Should the City be optimistic about 2018? |date=3 January 2018 |work=City A.M. |access-date=21 August 2019}}
City AM is also one of the only newspapers in the UK with a dedicated weekly crypto and blockchain technology column.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}
Alongside the newspaper, other initiatives include The Magazine, a bi-monthly lifestyle magazine for City professionals, and the City AM Awards, an annual event that celebrates London's individuals and companies. The publication also runs its own content marketing platform, City Talk, that allows partners to publish content to the platform, representing the voices and views of the City beyond the editorial staff.
Ownership
City AM Ltd was sold to THG plc by The Blue Bull Limited, NashCo Ltd and co-founders Lawson Muncaster and Jens Torpe in July 2023.
Distribution
The newspaper is published in print Tuesday to Thursday with a "digital edition" on Mondays and Fridays,{{Cite web |date=2023-01-13 |title=City A.M.: Thursday's the new Friday - so we're going digital only on Friday |url=https://www.cityam.com/city-a-m-thursdays-the-new-friday-so-were-going-digital-only-on-friday/ |access-date=2023-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113191639/https://www.cityam.com/city-a-m-thursdays-the-new-friday-so-were-going-digital-only-on-friday/ |archive-date=13 January 2023 }} and is distributed at more than 400 selected commuter hubs across London and the Home Counties, as well as over 500 offices throughout the City, Canary Wharf and other areas of high business concentration, with an average daily circulation of 67,090 copies as of January 2023. It is typically available from around 6{{nbsp}}am at London commuter stations and is handed out at key points in the City, Canary Wharf and other central London locations.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityam.com/about/|title=About us|website=City A.M.|access-date=21 August 2019}}
There are now three principal free newspapers in London: Metro (which also distributes nationally), City AM, and the London Evening Standard. City AM is aimed at private-sector workers, especially those in finance, professional and business services and corporations, and those who are interested in investing and personal finance.
Website
The newspaper announced a major digital expansion in March 2014 and appointed Metro{{'}}s head of digital content Martin Ashplant to be its digital and social media director. Chief executive Jens Torpe said at the time that he expected the website audience to grow to be bigger than the printed version.{{cite news |url= http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/city-am-plans-online-expansion-and-hires-metro-head-digital-content |title=City AM plans online expansion and hires Metro head of digital content |work=Press Gazette |location= London |last=Fenwick |first=Jack |date=3 March 2014 |access-date=3 March 2015}} In October 2014, City AM reported that it had seen its website traffic grow almost three-fold in a year.{{cite news |last=Ashplant |first=Martin |title=City A.M. appoints new editor and executive editor as title marks huge rise in digital reach |date=2 October 2014 |url= http://www.cityam.com/1412251285/city-am-appoints-new-editor-and-executive-editor-title-marks-huge-rise-digital-reach |work=City A.M. |access-date=15 July 2015}} In 2015, cityam.com became the first UK newspaper website to prevent users with ad blockers switched on from reading content.{{Cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/20/city-am-ban-ad-blocker-users |title=City AM becomes first UK newspaper to ban ad blocker users |last=Sweney |first=Mark |date=20 October 2015 |work=The Guardian |location= London |access-date=3 March 2017}}
The website was relaunched under the editorship of Andy Silvester in 2021, alongside the relaunch of the newspaper after the pandemic. It achieved a series of record months for traffic after the relaunch.
Editors
class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Editors |
Years
! Editor |
---|
2005–2008
| David Parsley |
2008–2014 |
2014–2015
| David Hellier |
2015–2020
| Christian May |
2020–2024
| Andy Silvester |
2024–present
| Christian May |
References
{{Reflist|40em}}
{{UK regional daily newspapers}}
{{London newspapers}}
{{Media in the United Kingdom|newsmag}}
Category:Business newspapers published in the United Kingdom
Category:Newspapers published in London
Category:Free daily newspapers
Category:Newspapers established in 2005
Category:Media and communications in the City of London