Daily newspaper the New Day is set to close on Friday, just nine weeks after it was launched. Publisher Trinity Mirror said it was "disappointing" but circulation for the title was "below our expectations". Editor Alison Phillips said "we tried everything we could", getting a great reaction from readers, "but the reality was we didn't have enough of them". It had hoped to sell about 200,000 copies a day, but sales are reported to have fallen to about 40,000. The majority of the newspaper's 25 staff will lose their jobs, with the remainder being absorbed by the Mirror newspaper. The paper was launched in February and was said to be politically neutral and aimed at "time-poor" readers. Although the title had a social media presence, it did not have a website. Two million copies were distributed free on launch day. It then cost 25p for the first two weeks, before rising to 50p. In its trading update Trinity said: "Although the New Day has received many supportive reviews and built a strong following on Facebook, the circulation for the title is below our expectations.
