News
Scott Trust appoints new chair
The Scott Trust, the sole shareholder of Guardian Media Group, has announced the appointment of Ole Jacob Sunde as its new chair.
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
REVIEW
Young journalists: a lesson plan
What do incoming journalists need to do to succeed? Based on his recent interview with Ed Walker, James Evelegh has some good advice…
COLUMN
Liz Gerard’s Notebook
When financial losses come in handy, why the Press is discomfited by the Daniel Morgan report, strange things on the wall at Magdalen, baby names, under-reporting Grenfell, GB News, and, three cheers for Metro for doing what papers should be doing.
News
Two new Editors announced as Archant invests in daily titles
Archant has announced appointments to the newly created Editor roles at the Ipswich Star and Norwich Evening News.
News
HELLO! joins The Ozone Project
The Ozone Project has announced HELLO! as the latest publisher to join its alliance, bolstering the platform’s coverage of celebrity, culture and lifestyle content.
News
The Telegraph Launches Imposters Podcast Series
The Telegraph has launched a new podcast series Imposters, which hears from high-profile women about their experiences of feeling inadequate while being at the top of their game.
News
Expansion joins WoodWing Group
WoodWing, a global provider of content management solutions and services, has reached an agreement with Expansion for it to join the WoodWing Group.
News
The Guardian launches new food podcast
The Guardian, in partnership with Ocado, is launching a new weekly food podcast, Comfort Eating with Grace Dent.
News
Guardian chief executive Annette Thomas to step down
Guardian Media Group has announced that chief executive Annette Thomas, who joined the group in March 2020, has decided to leave the company at the end of June.
News
FTWeekend Festival announces return to Kenwood
The 2021 FTWeekend Festival will return in-person on September 4 with a theme of ‘Reawakening: Imagining a post-pandemic world’.
News
The Sun launches Mask Force
The Sun has launched a single use mask recycling campaign, Mask Force, encouraging Sun readers to start recycling their single use masks to help stop the impact they are having on our planet.
News
AOP announces shortlist for 2021 Digital Publishing Awards
The Association of Online Publishers has announced the shortlist for the 2021 Digital Publishing Awards – a celebration of best practice in innovative, creative, and profitable digital publishing.
News
Neil Jagger appointed Chief Executive of NewstrAid
Following the announcement of Mike Mirams' retirement from his position as Chief Executive Officer of NewstrAid, the trustees have announced that Neil Jagger has been appointed to the role.
REVIEW
AI makes the impossible possible
Robot journalists, far from replacing human ones, are enabling publishers to expand into areas that would have been impossible using only human reporters. Take football for instance.
News
The Private Eye Paul Foot Award 2021 – shortlist announced
The Private Eye Paul Foot Award 2021 shortlist has been announced, comprising outstanding examples of investigative and campaigning journalism.
