It is likely that agency press directors will see dummy versions of the paper, which could be titled ES Lite. It is being led by Martin Clarke, the former editor-in-chief of Ireland on Sunday and currently assistant editor of the Mail on Sunday.
Other sources speculate that the meeting could have been called to announce the shift to a single edition or alternative money-saving measures.
Reports claim that the free paper could replace the earliest of the Standard's three daily editions and will be handed out by Standard vendors between 12pm and 2pm.
Associated Newspapers has been working on the project while Express Newspaper boss Richard Desmond has been waiting in the wings with a free London evening title.
Desmond is awaiting an Office of Fair Trading adjudication on whether Associated's deal with London Underground to distribute Metro, its free morning paper, is anti-competitive.
If it is ruled anti-competitive, Desmond will quickly be able to launch his own free evening newspaper, which is understood to be called London-i.
As well as a spoiler to tackle Desmond, the free Standard is also seen by press buyers as a reaction to a circulation decline at the paid-for paper. Six-month circulation figures for May-October were down 7.81% year-on-year from 399,724 to 368,493.
One press director said that the Standard has been trying to incentivise readers to buy the paper, but the strategy was not working.
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