Note to Metro: Bragging that you’re the most well-read paper in the world would carry a good deal more weight if you had to a shred of evidence to back it up.
(And no, citing grandiose figures for the total number of newspapers printed worldwide doesn’t actually count).
You see, circulation is a many splendored thing, and it does, in fact, denote some component of active reader participation. Which can be an especially imperative factor when determining the accurate circulation of a free newspaper.
Indeed, virtually anyone can print 20,000,000 copies of a newspaper,** and then forcibly shove those papers down the throats of innocent straphangers at the onset of their early morning commute. The trick, however, is to produce a rare specimen of newspaper that actually entices people to pick it up and read it voluntarily.