Tracking free newspapers

Aside from "convergence, one of the current buzzwords in the industry is "free" -- as in the explosive growth of free newspapers like Metro, 2o Minutes, and the sheets that have sprouted in the U.S.

Some industry watchers and executives have predicted that almost all newspapers will be free within a few years.

There is a great site to track these papers. Piet Bakker of the University of Amsterdam runs Free Daily Newspapers: the reinvention of the newspaper. He has links and background to most of the world's major sheets and good updates on what's happening in the industry.

Since many journalists might well find themselves working for these papers, it's worth checking out. (Thanks to Poynter's E-media Tidbits for the pointer)