News
Companies revise marketing budgets up to strongest levels since 2014
Total UK marketing budgets were revised up to an almost eight-year high during the opening quarter of 2022, according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report.
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
American publishing trade associations in merger talks
The News Media Alliance will absorb the MPA – The Association of Magazine Media under a merger agreement awaiting NMA member approval.
COLUMN
Liz Gerard’s Notebook
Partygate, Sunak’s non-dom woes, Tory MPs, women's health, Channel 4, the trans debate, front page bankers, June Brown and front page of the fortnight…
News
Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine relaunches this Saturday
The new-look Daily Mail Saturday supplement will include a definitive TEN-page On Demand TV guide with more than 100 must-see shows – in addition to the existing listings, say the publishers.
News
News UK appoints new Chief Technology Officer
News UK has announced that Simon Farnsworth has been appointed as EVP, Chief Technology Officer, joining the executive team and reporting to Rebekah Brooks.
News
MPP Global appoints Jeff Spies
MPP Global has appointed Jeff Spies as Head of Subscription Management, tasked with shaping and leading the delivery of their subscription management strategy and product roadmap.
News
multilocal hires two new directors
multilocal has announced the appointment of Lola Oguntokun as People Director and Charlie Parkes-Patel as Sales Director.
News
Newsworks announces ‘Festival of News’
Newsworks is set to host its first-ever ‘Festival of News’ event, which focuses on the importance of quality trusted journalism and why it matters to readers and advertisers.
News
Guild appoints Gregor Young
Guild, a platform for professional communities and networking, has appointed Gregor Young, formerly marketing technology director at the Financial Times as COO.
FEATURE
On the ground in Kyiv…
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a story so big that it initially knocked Covid, partygate and everything else off the front pages. Liz Gerard looks at the editorial choices newspapers are having to make when covering the conflict.
INTERVIEW
Defunding fake news
Misinformation is a profitable business, made possible by Silicon Valley’s laissez-faire approach and an undiscerning programmatic ecosystem. Two senior media executives have decided to do something about it. Ray Snoddy meets them.
RESEARCH
Latest AOP survey reveals key industry themes for 2022
Earlier this year, the Association of Online Publishers conducted a survey – Digital Publishing; Meeting the Future. Here, Richard Reeves, the AOP’s managing director, summarises the main findings from the research.
FEATURE
Newsletter trends
Email newsletters play an important role in increasing engagement and building loyalty, but it’s a competitive space. With the rise of platforms like Substack, some newsletter editors even find themselves competing with erstwhile colleagues.
INTERVIEW
Can newspapers still be at the heart of all things local?
Peter Sands contacted some senior people in the regional press and put that question to them. With one blunt exception, the response was positive…
FEATURE
The National – building a subs future
More and more newspapers are exploring digital subscriptions, writes James Evelegh. One such is The National in Wales…
