News
Seedtag launches Contextual Audiences
Seedtag, a leading global contextual advertising company, has launched its advanced Contextual Audiences, powered by its proprietary Contextual AI technology, Liz.
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
MNA Media prepares to unveil redesign of websites
The Express & Star and Shropshire Star are preparing to unveil their new-look websites.
News
PA Media Group, Chief Executive Clive Marshall to retire
Clive Marshall is to retire from his role as chief executive at PA Media Group next year.
News
NewstrAid announces second ‘Woolly Wednesday’
Industry charity NewstrAid has announced a second ‘Woolly Wednesday’ to highlight the support available to those struggling during the colder months.
COLUMN
Liz Gerard’s Notebook
The Covid Inquiry, Conflict in the Middle East, Bedbugs… and front page of the fortnight...
FEATURE
Measuring brand uplift: the secret to surviving a cost-of-living crisis
With consumers feeling the pinch and spending less, how should publishers and their advertising clients react? According to Brand Metrics’ Sean Adams, they should invest in brand marketing activity and measure the right metrics.
Q&A
Online picture quality: 5 minutes with… John de Jong
When it comes to image quality, publishers tend to put much more effort into pictures that appear in print than those that appear online. This, says Pixometry's John de Jong, is a mistake and one that can be easily avoided.
COLUMN
Ensuring print’s future
Print is proving much more resilient than many once expected, but publishers and printers need to work together to ensure its long term future.
News
IPSO publishes Annual Report 2022
2022 saw the launch of IPSO’s five-year strategy, an independent external review of their work, and they also handled the biggest single complaint to date.
INTERVIEW
Asking questions, telling stories
The tools journalists use and where they publish their stories might have changed dramatically over the past twenty years but, as renowned journalism trainer Gerry Kreibich tells former student Jon Griffin, the basic skill set remains the same.
FEATURE
Broad and Deep – The Future of The Sun
The Sun, one of the UK’s best known newspapers, is investing heavily in its digital future. Paul Hood explains the thinking behind their online strategy.
FEATURE
The Business of Fashion
In the twelve months since it launched, the Fashion Matters newsletter has become the FT’s most opened newsletter and was named ‘Newsletter of the Year’. Sarah Ebner looks at the reasons behind its success.
FEATURE
Reimagining our city daily papers
National World has not just redesigned its metro titles, writes Tim Robinson, it has completely rethought the age-old daily format for the modern reader.
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.
INTERVIEW
Target Gen Z
Young people are curious. They want to know about stuff, but are not engaging with mainstream media when it comes to news consumption. Will Lewis tells Ray Snoddy about his efforts to provide Gen Z with quality news content.
