Why I Love the Metro Daily

The Metro Daily: the self-proclaimed "world's largest global newspaper", is one of the greatest things ever, and one of my favorite things about Philly (for being global, I'm not really sure how available it is in other places). But in Philly, there are people on the street corners in the mornings and in the subway terminals belting out "METRO METRO". The office buildings get daily shipments to spread out for staff by the water coolers and copy machines. The familiar green metal dispensers are on every other street corner. And best of all, of course, it's free. And not just that, the staff is friendly and helpful. Why, I remember when the subway system, SEPTA (South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) went on strike (for about three weeks, way longer than NY, but that wasn't on CNN), the newspaper vendors worked to help the SEPTA managers who had to stay on to help passengers find alternative ways home. Kind of odd actually.

But the truly great thing about the Metro is the content. It has all of the info you really need, the headlines from most any other news outlet from political or international headlines, to gossip and celebrity news. With it's own sections for movie reviews, su doku and crossword, suggestions on local "massage parlors", and a recurring focus on a local "hot bartender of the week". Nothing truly special there, except for the layout. The somehow manage to keep both the world and national news, as well as the local news in the spotlight at all times. Just look at the NEWS page above (admittedly from a long time ago). The visual of mourning Iraqi families after a brutal and horrendous affair, is beautifully sandwiched between a shot of a six week old Gainesville, FL baby squirrel healing from a broken leg, and the news of a father breaking his own leg after jumping off a bridge with his ten year old daughter to help her with her fear of heights. With some Valerie Plame news to seal the deal.

It's news, infotainment, and heartwarming local stories to boot. And best of all, it's free. Why get the NY Times?