Can free papers save our dying newspaper readership?

I should have posted this last week, but since it's deadline time for the September issue of the PJR Reports (I told Nathan, Venus, and Don that I'll probably the last one -- again -- to send the monitors and story to Ma'am Chit), I wasn't able to.

The August issue of the PJR Reports is now online. Here are the issue's stories:

Commentary

Coverage of the Subic Rape Case: A Trial Becomes a Telenovela
by Rachel E. Khan (Correction: In the sentence, "But the naming of her half-sister in the reports would enable the townspeople of Zambales to identify her," it should have been: "But the naming of her stepsister in the reports would enable the townspeople of Zamboanga to identify her." Our apologies)

A recipe for hard times
The Free Papers are Here
by Hector Bryant L. Macale

Journalism and public relations
Friends or Enemies?
by Nathan J. Lee and Venus L. Elumbre

The National Press Club elections
Politics, Media style
by Don Gil K. Carreon

Please Don't Call me an Investigative Journalist
by Yvonne T. Chua

"They’re short, colorful, fun, and easy to read," my story began. "But can the country’s free commuter newspapers save what would appear to be a declining newspaper readership among Filipinos?"

"Well, it might be too early to say that," I continued. "However, the proliferation of free commuter newspapers and the apparent success of the country’s first free daily Inquirer Libre indicate a change—a slow but seemingly sure one—in the landscape of the media business in the country."

A friend who studies at The Manila Times School of Journalism just sent me a YM message, saying that his class on media management is doing a reaction paper to my story. What about you guys, what do you think?

Feel free to post your comments about the stories in this issue.