LONDONS FREE NEWSPAPERS

Project Undertaken April 2022 - Self-Published Zine (all images taken on an iPhone 7)

This project documents the experience of commuting on the London Underground. It examines why, despite the prevalence of digital technology, commuters continue to read newspapers. Factors explored include the lack of mobile signal underground, a British tendency to take free publications, avoiding social interaction through a ‘look busy’ mentality, and staying up-to-date with daily news.

Two blue bins labeled 'PICK UP YOUR FREE NEWSPAPER HERE' inside a London Tube station, with a black and white circular labyrinth artwork on the wall above, by Matthew Morgan.
A minimalist digital graphic with a deep red background and bold white text reading 'LONDONS FREE NEWSPAPERS' and 'GOING, GOING, GONE' by Matthew Morgan.

Distressing noise from the tube, vast amounts of people pushing, rushing and the complex network of tunnels that lie under London.

In amongst all this in the year of 2022, London’s travellers still read the newspaper on their daily commute, but why?

Being British …

The ability to take anything for free. Mobile signal, underground, there is no signal. Lack of social contact with strangers, a ‘look busy’ mentality. Gossip, up-to-date news every morning in the paper.

A woman on a London Tube train reading a Metro newspaper with a headline about Russia and Ukraine, while another woman stands behind her using a smartphone, by Matthew Morgan.
A folded free newspaper left on a blue London Underground seat with a red stick-figure pattern, from the series 'London's Free Newspapers' by Matthew Morgan.
A person in a red jacket hands out free copies of the Evening Standard from a red rolling bin on a London sidewalk, captured by Matthew Morgan for his 2022 documentary series.
A discarded newspaper with a headline about 'The Vodka' resting on a ledge in a London Underground station as a commuter walks away, from the series 'London's Free Newspapers' by Matthew Morgan.
A man in a tan coat walks past empty silver Metro newspaper bins at St Pancras station, holding a newspaper, part of Matthew Morgan's 2022 London documentary series.
A man reading a free newspaper on a London Underground train, captured by Matthew Morgan for his 2022 series 'London's Free Newspapers'.
A high-angle shot of a woman with pink hair descending stairs into a London Tube station, passing a discarded newspaper lying on the floor, by Matthew Morgan.
Two men sitting separately on metal station benches, both crossing their legs and reading newspapers under an exit sign, by Matthew Morgan for 'London's Free Newspapers'.
Two commuters on the London Tube wearing surgical face masks and reading free newspapers to avoid social contact, April 2022, by Matthew Morgan.
The red cover of Matthew Morgan's photography zine titled 'London's Free Newspapers: Going, Going, Gone' resting on a wooden slatted surface.
Front page of the Metro newspaper from April 7, 2022, featuring headlines about Ed Sheeran and Boris Johnson, part of Matthew Morgan's 2022 documentary series.
Front page of the Metro newspaper from April 6, 2022, with a large headline asking 'YOU BEEN ON THE VODKA?' regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as featured in Matthew Morgan's documentary project.