The San Francisco Independent was the largest non-daily newspaper in the United States. It helped to popularize the free newspaper as a business model at the beginning of the 21st century, and also rescued the San Francisco Examiner from being shut down by the Hearst Corporation. As of 2000, The Independent was distributed three times. As of March, 2001, the Independent had ceased delivering to homes on Saturdays, being distributed only at newsstands and as an insert into the San Francisco Examiner. The newspaper has since stopped publication.