Sheldon Adelson appears determined to continue promoting his Yisrael HaYom Hebrew newspaper, which has rapidly assumed a formidable place in the news marketplace. The order was now given to add an additional 46,000 copies, with the newspaper now printing 301,000 copies daily.
Some of the local media report that the increase in circulation was announced immediately after the daily Yediot Achronot launched another attack against Mrs. Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the prime minister. Opponents of the growing daily, primarily the veteran left-wing affiliated papers, accuse Yisrael HaYom of being a right-wing mouthpiece.
Officials report that since the free newspaper began a weekend edition, it is now distributing 350,000 copies of the weekend edition every Friday.
The newspaper is distributed nationwide by employees handing out copies at key intersections and areas in cities around Israel. The newspaper has taken a respectable chunk out of the Yediot and Maariv markets, and the newspapers have tried having the newspaper eliminated by lobbying for laws that prohibit a free newspaper and demanding a newspaper owner may only be Israeli, not a foreigner. Needless to say the attempts failed.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)