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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
What’s the outlook for national news media in 2024? Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent, looks ahead.
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.
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.
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.
Digital ad spend saw the biggest full year growth for 15 years in 2021 with investment up 41% year-on-year to £23.5 billion, according to IAB UK’s latest Digital Adspend report.
The Guardian has launched First Edition – a newsletter offering readers a mix of news digest, expert analysis and a pick of the Guardian’s best journalism every weekday morning.
Denmaur Paper Media, a paper merchant, has announced that it has surpassed 100,000 tonnes of Carbon Balanced Paper sales.
Virgin Red, Virgin’s rewards club, has partnered with Readly to offer members up to 750 Virgin Points and their first month free when they sign-up to Readly through Virgin Red.
UPM and the Paperworkers’ Union have agreed on first-ever business-specific collective labour agreements for five UPM businesses. The strike at UPM mills in Finland will end immediately.
The FT has launched The Climate Game, an interactive game that challenges subscribers and non-subscribers to see if they can reach net zero by 2050.
WoodWing, a global provider of content orchestration solutions and services, has achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification for its Information Security Management System.
Archant CEO Lorna Willis and editor in chief Jeremy Clifford, along with three other senior executives, will be leaving the company as part of a wide-ranging restructure.
For too long, the quantity of a journalist’s output has been seen by many as being as important as its quality. As Steven Wilson-Beales, chair of the AOP Journalism Advisory Board (JAB), says, the pendulum is swinging back towards ‘quality’.
The digital advertising industry is facing a period of upheaval as the world emerges from the pandemic and grapples with the increasing focus on consumer privacy & consent. A new mindset is critical for success in the changing advertising landscape.
The founder of Tindle Newspapers died last week, aged 95. His watchword was ‘local’.
Readly has added over 160 of the UK’s regional daily newspapers to its platform as it continues to broaden its newspaper portfolio.
Sir Ray Tindle, a passionate newspaper man and founder of the Tindle group of newspapers, died on 16 April, aged 95.
Inside Politics is the latest newsletter from the Financial Times and is written by associate editor and columnist Stephen Bush.
The i newspaper’s Newspaper Sales team has chosen to donate its £5,000 prize to Project Wingman after it won the Team Award in parent company DMGT’s Community Champion Awards 2021.
