News
Newsquest hires Head of Digital Subscriptions
Newsquest Media Group has announced a key appointment as it looks to accelerate its digital subscriptions business.
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
The Evening Standard launches London Rising event
The Evening Standard will host a series of hybrid, virtual and interactive events, focused on bringing London back to life and getting back to business following the pandemic.
News
AOP and Deloitte Q4 report signals recovery
Digital publishing revenues in the UK increased to £165.1 million in Q4 2020 according to the latest quarterly Digital Publishers’ Revenue Index (DPRI) from the AOP and Deloitte.
News
The Guardian appoints Richard Furness to new role
The Guardian has announced the appointment of Richard Furness as managing director, customer engagement and business development.
News
Campaign Publishing Awards 2021 – shortlist announced
The shortlist has been announced for this year’s Campaign Publishing Awards.
Book Review
Parallel lives…
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and political journalist Peter Oborne have trod the same ground for four decades. Now the latter has gone off-piste. Raymond Snoddy reads the runes…
News
Guardian documentary Colette wins an Oscar
Colette, written and directed by Anthony Giacchino, produced by Oculus Studios and Respawn Entertainment, and released by The Guardian, has won an Oscar for best short documentary.
News
Reach remains biggest partner in BBC Local News Partnership
The BBC Local News Partnership has posted details for a new round of the Local News Partnership scheme, confirming the allocation of Local Democracy Reporters (LDRs) across 118 contract areas.
News
The Times launches new digital channel to champion sustainable living
Coinciding with Earth Day, The Times and The Sunday Times has launched the new Times Earth editorial channel.
News
Guardian to voluntarily return £1.6m of furlough money
Guardian Media Group will voluntarily return £1.6m in furlough money to the government that was claimed during the early days of the pandemic to support the salaries of some staff.
News
News UK launches media apprenticeship scheme
News UK has announced a raft of new apprenticeships to encourage greater diversity in the media.
REVIEW
Purveyors of truth or peddlers of lies?
James Evelegh has just finished reading Peter Oborne’s ‘The Assault on Truth’, a book which raises difficult questions for the press.
News
Just published: WAN-IFRA’s World Press Trends 2020-2021
This year’s World Press Trends & Outlook report delves into the challenging year publishers faced in 2020 and where the industry is headed in 2021 and beyond.
News
Publisher’s Toolbox enters US market
Publisher’s Toolbox have announced their latest partnership – with Clarion Events North America, the US division of Clarion Events UK.
News
Digital ad market proves resilient with 5% growth in 2020
The UK’s digital advertising market rallied in 2020, following the initial impact of the pandemic on spend, according to IAB UK’s latest Digital Adspend report.
