News
Newsworks Awards 2023 winners announced
Agencies including OMD UK, EssenceMediacom, Spark Foundry and Zenith UK were honoured at Newsworks’ annual awards on 28th November.
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
News
The Guardian and Observer launches charity appeal
The 2023 Guardian and Observer charity appeal is inviting readers to donate to three UK charities providing vital support for refugees and asylum seekers.
News
The Fed: No Christmas spirit from newspaper publishers
The Federation of Independent Retailers has accused newspaper publisher Reach PLC of acting like Scrooge, after it announced imminent increases to the cover prices of its national titles.
News
esbconnect appoints Ross Lafayette
esbconnect has appointed Ross Lafayette as sales and partnerships director, targeting growth after its management buyout earlier this year.
News
ABC launches new website
ABC has announced the launch of its new website, highlighting the wide range of data and assurance services available from today’s contemporary ABC.
News
Jonathan Grun awarded fellowship of the SoE
Jonathan Grun, former editor of PA and Secretary of the Editors’ Code of Practice Committee has been awarded a fellowship of the Society of Editors.
COLUMN
Liz Gerard’s Notebook
The state of the popular press, reporting Gaza, foreign ownership of the press, ignoring Chris Huhne and front page of the fortnight…
News
Senior local editors call on BBC to rein in local expansion plans
Senior local editorial directors have joined forces in an unprecedented call for the “neighbour from hell” BBC to abandon its plans to expand aggressively into local news marketplaces already well served by commercial providers.
News
Joint statement released
A joint statement has been released on behalf of the Advertising Association, IAB UK, IPA & ISBA.
News
The Times and Sunday Times announce their Christmas Appeal
The Times and Sunday Times Christmas Appeal 2023 supports Whizz Kids, Feeding Britain and Street Child to carry out their vital work.
News
News UK names Tom Jackson Chief Technology Officer
News UK has named Tom Jackson as chief technology officer, with ultimate responsibility for the technology infrastructure which underpins News UK’s digital-first strategy.
News
PPA Scotland Awards - winners announced
On Wednesday last week, the annual PPA Scotland Awards took place at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow.
INTERVIEW
And the next prime minister will be…
With a general election around the corner, one person we are bound to see a lot more of over the next 12 months is Sir John Curtice. Ray Snoddy gets his predictions on who will win the election and his thoughts on the state of political journalism.
OUT & ABOUT WITH ALAN GEERE
Letter from the Maldives
Dr Alan Geere visits an Indian Ocean paradise facing extinction through climate change and finds local journalists are fighting hard to keep the issue in the headlines.
REVIEW
Media Quotes of the Year 2023
It was a year marked by reporters covering conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, Rupert Murdoch stepping down, AI threatening journalists’ jobs and press freedom under pressure. Jon Slattery chooses his media quotes of the year.
