More popular than Jesus story in "The New York Times" on 5 August. Over twenty other stations followed WAQY's lead with similar announcements. Some stations in the Deep South went further, organising demonstrations with bonfires, drawing hordes of teenagers to publicly burn their Beatles records and other memorabilia. Epstein was so concerned by the reaction that he considered cancelling the group's upcoming US tour, believing they would be seriously harmed in some way. He then flew to the US and held a press conference in New York City, where he publicly criticised "Datebook", saying the magazine had taken Lennon's words out of context, and
Evening Standard simply ... stunned the market. Not just for the act of going free, but because editorial quality has been maintained, circulation has almost trebled and advertisers have responded favourably. Here is a media brand restored to health." The "Standard" also won the daily newspaper of the year award at the London Press Club Press Awards in May 2011. The Evening Standard launched a mobile app with US app developer Handmark in May 2010. The range of apps was updated in 2015. In March 2018, editor George Osborne initiated a redesign of the paper, which featured a dropping of the 'London'