Editing Evening Standard (section)

===Lebedev takeover===
On 21 January 2009, the Russian businessman and former [[KGB]] agent [[Alexander Lebedev]] and his son [[Evgeny Lebedev]], who in 2010 went on to own ''[[The Independent]]'', agreed to acquire control of the ''Evening Standard'' for £1 for 64 per cent ownership.<ref name=Lebedev/><ref name=BBC>{{cite news |title=Ex-KGB Spy Buys UK Paper for £1 |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7841891.stm |work=[[BBC News]]|date=21 January 2009 |access-date=21 January 2009}}</ref> A few years earlier, 12 per cent of the paper had been sold to Justin Shaw and [[Geordie Greig]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} Associated Newspapers retained the remaining 24 per cent.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In November 2009, it was announced that the ''London Evening Standard'' would drop its morning "News Extra" edition from 4 January 2010. From then on, the first edition was the "West End Final", available from 2&nbsp;pm.<ref name=G26N09>{{cite news |last=Sweney |first=Mark |title=London Evening Standard drops noon edition and cuts jobs |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/nov/26/london-evening-standard-drops-edition |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=26 November 2009 |access-date=31 March 2012}}</ref> One edition of 600,000 copies would be printed starting at 12:30&nbsp;pm, ending 5.30&nbsp;am starts for journalists and the previous deadline of 7&nbsp;am for the first edition. Twenty people were expected to lose their jobs as a result.<ref name=G26N09/>

There were often considerable changes between editions in the front-page lead and the following news pages, including the [[Londoner's Diary]], though features and reviews stayed the same.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.magforum.com/papers/nationals.htm#eve |title=ESI Media (Independent, Standard) |website=MagForum |access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref> In January 2010, circulation was increased to 900,000.<ref>{{cite news |last=Reynolds |first=John |title=London Evening Standard owner plots circulation increase to 900,000 copies |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jul/10/london-evening-standard-plan-circulation-increase |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=10 July 2013 |access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref>