Half of us bought a local weekly paper, and three-quarters received an unsolicited 'free weekly', financed by advertising.

The response of the existing publishers was traditional: they founded their own free weeklies or bought up the newcomers.

Half a dozen groups of some size produced free weeklies only.

The company was previously a family owned business that published 18 daily newspapers, 27 weekly newspapers, and 26 free weeklies.

The people of this city are so politically active that the free weeklies run listings of coming protests.

But Dan's Papers, a free weekly in the Hamptons, picked up the story.

Newsday officials, however, say the free weeklies are not competition, at least for readers.

Long Island has traditionally been the home of many free and low-cost weeklies featuring the music scene and community-based reporting.

It will also close three free weeklies.

Neighborhood News is the publisher of five free weeklies, based in Manchester, New Hampshire.