While Journal Newspapers president and publisher James McDonald refused to confirm or deny the launch date of a D.C. edition he told the Post the other free area newspapers his company publishes target readers who view conventional broadsheet newspapers as too time-consuming and hard to navigate.

"[The Journal newspapers] are designed as a response to a change in consumer habits, which points to less time to read. People feel guilty," he said, "when they pay for something and don't use it all, they stop buying it."

He added that the "strength of our model is running shorter news stories than conventional broadsheets in a tabloid format while mixing them with local news coverage not found in commuter newspapers" such as the Washington Post's Express, a free D.C. area tabloid.

As NewsMax.com reported on December 22, "Anschutz's 'Examiner' to Go National?" Clarity trademarked variations of the Examiner title last October listing at least 68 cities, including Washington, Baltimore, New York, Detroit, Denver and Salt Lake City.

In Washington the Examiner will be distributed free to households in select Zip codes and in sidewalk boxes, sources told the Post.

Managing Editor Nicholas Horrock said Journal Newspapers is close to naming a Washington editor and a few additional reporters "to cover a wider area."

Editor's note: