It was good while it lasted - some said very financially good - but News Corp's Australian commuter papers have had their day.
The "cheeky, funny, witty and informative" mX editions for Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane fold on June 12, and mobile editions appear to be in doubt. It seems fewer people were picking up the free daily - opting instead to get their news and information online - and group editorial director Campbell Reid was reported saying the print advertising market "remained difficult".
Chief executive Julian Clarke told staff of the closure by email, saying "a thorough review" of commercial prospects indicated that it was the right decision.
The company says "as many as 30 positions" are affected although as many as possible will be redeployed.
Launched in Melbourne in 2001 amid a surge of worldwide enthusiasm for the 18-34 market of city workers and students, the newspaper was initially the subject of a battle for supremacy with Fairfax Media. But News had secured the railheads - distribution rights for city stations - leaving Fairfax the less attractive option of putting papers into commuters' hands as they left for work... and not unusually in a battle with News, Fairfax backed down.
Editions were extended to Sydney and Brisbane, and last year a total audience of 557,000 was claimed, against average weekday circulation of 192,000 copies.
It was always the nature of the business that editorial resources were pared to a minimum, with content heavily reliant on agency stories, but the closures will have an impact on jobs at all levels and pose a question about how News will rearrange print capacity.
That at Sydney and Brisbane had recently been upgraded, the latter to allow production of the Gold Coast Bulletin to be brought to Murarrie and the Molendinar plant closed. Last month News ordered six new buffered inserting systems - two each for the three print centres - and an upgrade of print facilities in Melbourne was expected to be the company's next big project.
Pictured: Cheeky and witty - how News portrayed its mx editions