Italian award for "Editorial Innovation"
ITALIAN AWARD FOR 'EDITORIAL INNOVATION' Metro International S.A. ("Metro"), the international newspaper group, today announced that the Unione degli Industriali in Rome has presented Metro with the bi-annual prize for 'Editorial Innovation'. The 'Communicare Roma 2001' awards are voted for by Italy's leading entrepreneurs who are members of the national confederation of industry. The Mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, attended the ceremony where Fabrizio Paladini, Editor of Metro, received the award from Mauro Masi, the delegate from the Italian National Government's Ministry for media affairs. Metro's Italian editions were launched in Rome in July 2000 and in Milan in October 2000. The two editions now have a combined daily readership of 1.2 million with a daily circulation of 430,000 copies, making Metro the third largest daily newspaper in Italy. This award follows a tradition at Metro, which has included Jan van der Marel, Managing Director of the Holland operation, being voted 1999 Reclamweeks 'Media Man of the Year' by the Dutch advertising industry. Metro was the first free daily newspaper to be launched in the Netherlands and the first newspaper to be successfully launched in the country in the last 50 years. Metro's first edition was published in Stockholm in 1995 and was voted 'Service Company of the Year' in 1998 by leading business daily newspaper Dagens Industri and Sweden's confederation of services companies, as well as 'Print Media of the Year' by business magazine Vision in 1999. Pelle Törnberg, President & CEO of Metro International, commented: "We are grateful to Rome's business community for this award, which continues the recognition of Metro's successful innovation in markets around the world. We are an entrepreneurial company and therefore welcome this recognition from our peers, who are also our readers and some of our major advertisers." Metro International S.A. 'A' and 'B' shares are listed on the NASDAQ National Market and on the Stockholmsbörsen O-List under the symbols MTROA and MTROB. For further information, please visit www.metro.lu, email info@sharedvalue.net or contact: Pelle Törnberg, President & CEO tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 0230 Investor & media enquiries tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 5010 Metro International S.A. publishes and distributes 19 editions of its free daily newspaper in 14 countries: Stockholm (Metro), Prague (Metro), Gothenburg (Metro), Hungary (Metro), the Netherlands (Metro), Helsinki (Metro), Malmö (Metro), Santiago (MTG), Philadelphia (Metro), Zurich (Metropol), Toronto (Metro), Rome (Metro), Buenos Aires (Publimetro), Milan (Metro), Warsaw (Metropol), Athens (Metrorama), Montreal (Metro), Barcelona (Metro Directo) & Boston (Metro). ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/06/21/20010621BIT00270/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/06/21/20010621BIT00270/bit0001.pdf