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.
The latest Digital Publishers’ Revenue Index from the Association of Online Publishers and Deloitte has revealed sustained growth in digital publishing revenues in the third quarter of 2021.
The Midland News Association has closed the Lichfield edition of Chronicle Week “following a review of its portfolio”.
The Guardian says it has surpassed 1 million digital subscriptions, with digital subscriptions in the US and Australia rising by 13% year on year.
The NFRN has expressed disappointment at News UK Direct to Retail’s announcement that it is to increase its delivery charge by 3 per cent next year.
The Guardian on Friday announced three new appointments to its editorial newsletters team as part of an ongoing refresh around its newsletters offering.
DC Thomson writers have been recognised by Zero Tolerance, the Scottish charity which promotes gender equality, and challenges attitudes that ‘normalise violence and abuse against women’.
Lancashire Post editor Gillian Parkinson will step down next March from the JPIMedia title after 33 years of service to the publisher and its forerunner Johnston Press.
A new division of Daily Mail and General Trust has been created to house the i and New Scientist.
Actor Sean Bean and singer Sharleen Spiteri are amongst fifteen celebrities who are to receive "substantial damages" after last week settling claims against News Group Newspapers.
Archant has appointed Ken Symon as its newly-created business and energy editor.
Reuters and Durham University will establish the Sir Harry Evans Memorial Fund to nurture the next generation of investigative journalists.
Press Gazette’s tenth British Journalism Awards returned to an in-person ceremony at the London Hilton Bankside on Wednesday after going online last year due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Publishers often find themselves having to respond quickly to major policy shifts by the big tech companies. Apple’s latest privacy update is one such shift and presents publishers with challenges, but also opportunities.
The Independent, 35 this year, is growing strong. Reach is up, as is revenue and they are employing more journalists and opening up new revenue streams. As Christian Broughton tells Ray Snoddy, the newsbrand’s time has come.
Run with the negative or accentuate the positive? Highlight problems or present solutions? These are questions, writes Dickon Ross, that editors have always grappled with.
