Are free dailies changing San Mateo County news?

Grade the News has a really interesting study of the newspaper market in San Mateo County, comparing the major metro dailies (Chron and Merc), the County Times, and the free dailies (Daily News, Daily Journal, and Examiner).

It’s pretty interesting, if you’re a news junkie. Although the free dailies don’t tend to run as many words of news, the big dailies tend to be weak in surprising ways: the amount of hard local news and the impact of their reporting, and the level of initiative they show in San Mateo County.

Free dailies are a big trend in the newspaper business, and San Mateo County may be one of the most intensive battlegrounds in the industry. But the effect of all this competition on the Coastside is nil.