A new free daily called t.o.night will be launching on September 8th marking a milestone for the city as Toronto's first afternoon paper since the folding of the Toronto Telegram in 1971. Unlike competitors 24 Hours and Metro, the commuter-targeted t.o.night will be filled with news, stories and sports scores that afternoon subway riders won't find in the boxes crowding busy downtown intersections. And - not to be overlooked - the new daily will also come complete with a full page of local content created by blogTO.

Not since the rise and fall of Dose has a publication surfaced in the city threatening to shake up the print media landscape. While backed by some investors with print industry ties, t.o.night is an independent media company and come August will be based out of a small office space in Leslieville upstairs from the Curzon bar.

I first met with the team behind t.o.night earlier this year when they approached blogTO and asked to partner with us to help beef up their daily local content - a section based on my conversations with them that promises to be far more interesting, original and comprehensive than the competition who in the last year have all cut staff and resources devoted to covering local news and culture.

As far as local content, t.o.night will put more emphasis on event information, restaurant reviews and other happenings that will allow readers to plan their evenings as they look to unwind after a long day at the office.

This new daily will be published 5 times a week with an initial circulation of 100,000 copies a day; all distributed between 3:30 and 6:30pm near subway stops and other transit touch-points in the downtown core.