COLUMN
Liz Gerard’s Notebook
Remembering John Pilger and Henry Kissinger, Post Christmas regulars: diets and honours list, Miracle in Japan and front page of the fortnight.
News Media
The newspaper business was built for a world where one product served everyone and advertising paid for most of it. That model has gone. What replaces it is still being worked out title by title, from national groups to weeklies covering a single town.
Reader revenue is the clearest shift. Even Reach, which argued for free access for years, now puts some of its journalism behind a paywall, and the regional titles doing best changed their newsrooms before they asked anyone to pay. Ownership keeps changing too. National World rebuilt local editorships after years of centralisation, and the Observer is being reinvented as a premium print and digital title under new owners.
The strongest publishers understand the difference because they are not trying to be everything to everyone. They are trying to be essential to someone.
Chris Sherrard News media
Local news is where the pressure shows most. Millions of people now live without a dedicated local title, and new reader-funded and membership startups are moving into the gaps. Platforms are pulling back from news at the same time, which leaves trust and a direct relationship with readers as the assets that matter most.
Print hasn't disappeared either. Well-run weeklies still hold on to their readers, with circulation falling slowly while digital audiences grow.
Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on news media, from reader revenue and newsroom change to ownership, local news and trust, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.
Essential Resources
FEATURE
Returning to growth
Where is the growth opportunity for today’s publishers? Douglas McCabe tracks how the commercial model has evolved over the past fifty years and examines whether a better understanding of what online audiences want, will help drive future growth.
Best Practice in Publishing
News media
We asked Chris Sherrard, editor-in-chief of The Irish News, what does best practice publishing look like in news media? This is what he said…
INTERVIEW
Stand and deliver!
After years of resisting paywalls, Reach is now launching them across its titles. But David Higgerson, Reach’s chief content officer, carefully avoided the word ‘U-turn’ when interviewed by Steve Dyson.
INTERVIEW
Change before charge
It’s one thing to think that readers should pay for your journalism, but the reality is that unless you improve your offering, then you will struggle to start charging for it, as DC Thomson Editor-in-Chief Frank O’Donnell tells Ciar Byrne.
INTERVIEW
Ditching the generic
How can you edit a regional newspaper when you never visit the area you’re writing about? By filling it with generic content, an approach that National World’s David Montgomery, the new owner of JPI Media, is rapidly doing away with.
INTERVIEW
The Observer’s premium future
Ray Snoddy talks to Co-CEO Rich Furness about the thinking behind Tortoise Media’s acquisition of the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper and about their plans for its future.
FEATURE
Opportunities & Threats: National News Media
What’s the outlook for national news media in 2024? Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent, looks ahead.
FEATURE
Breathing new life into local media
There is a new generation of entrepreneurs launching local media businesses, bringing with them new ideas on business models and funding. Phil Clark looks at some of the stand-out examples.
OPINION
We Need Trusted News Brands Now More Than Ever
With Meta backing away from ‘news’ and AI accelerating the growth of disinformation, we need to redouble our efforts to safeguard access to quality journalism, says News Media Association Chief Executive Owen Meredith.
OUT & ABOUT WITH ALAN GEERE
Weekly does it
East Lothian is not just the best place to live – it has the best newsbrand too. Alan Geere heads over the border to find out what’s happening in the world of Scottish weeklies.
All Articles
COLUMN
Are the powerful being held to account?
Not according to James O’Brien’s new book, ‘How they broke Britain’. The state we’re in is in no small measure down to sections of the press not doing their job properly, he says.
News
Jeff Powell awarded MBE for services to journalism
Mail Sport’s Jeff Powell is recognised in New Year’s Honours list.
News
67 Bricks announces appointments
Jennifer Schivas and David Leeming have become CEO and CTO of 67 Bricks.
News
News/Media Alliance applauds NYT
The News/Media Alliance has applauded The New York Times’ complaint filed against Microsoft and OpenAI.
News
Guardian names Footballer of the Year 2023
Spain’s World Cup-winning forward Jenni Hermoso is the Guardian’s Footballer of the Year for 2023.
News
NUJ voices concern over coverage cuts
The National Union of Journalists has repeated its concern over cuts to women’s football coverage by Reach.
News
The New European plans to sue Michelle Mone
The New European says it has instructed solicitors and Counsel and expects to begin the case against Mone early in the New Year.
News
New independent newspaper launched in Hull
The first edition of The Hull Story newspaper was published this month with a print run of 10,000 copies.
News
The Sun announces new appointments on Bizarre
The Sun has announced promotions at Bizarre – the paper’s celebrity and showbiz section.
News
The Fed: ‘Tis not the season to be that jolly!
Independent retailers are once again being hit by further newspaper cover price increases, combined with lower profit margins, just in time for the new year.
News
The Independent appoints Louise Thomas
The Independent has announced that it has appointed Louise Thomas as its US editor.
COLUMN
Liz Gerard’s Notebook
It’s been another tumultuous year for news. Month in, month out, editors were spoilt for choice for what to put on their front pages. So, what did our tabloids lead on? Liz Gerard looks back over the tabloid year…
COLUMN
Their nightmare litigant
For any media organisation that indulged in phone hacking, Prince Harry is the person you least want to face a legal challenge from.
News
Brits top news moments of 2023 revealed
Readly says Britain's favourite news moments of 2023 were the King’s Coronation, Boris Johnson resigning and the Lionesses reaching the World Cup Final.
