The daily Maariv has been quite close to shutting the doors of its print edition. The daily Yediot Achronot, once the largest Israeli daily has also been hit hard by the newcomers, as is the case with Maariv. The Yisrael Hayom daily brought Israel its first free newspaper, and the paper is distributed nationwide at select intersections and shopping areas, free of charge. Following suit is another free Hebrew daily, the Yisrael Post. As such, many Israelis have adjusted their reading habits and parted ways with their favorite columnists to save 5 NIS for a paid newspaper.

Yediot bounced back by selling its paper for a drastically reduced price and giving it out free of charge in some areas. Maariv has been struggling to find a formula that will permit the newspaper to survive.

Maariv has decided to become the nation’s only evening edition newspaper, with company officials announcing the newspaper will be distributed at shopping centers, train and bus stations and other busy areas during the evening hours. The morning edition and subscriptions will continue, at least for now. The new evening newspaper will first be offered in the Gush Dan area exclusively and from there Maariv hopes to branch out nationwide.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)