News
FT promotes Fiona Spooner
The Financial Times has appointed Fiona Spooner to the role of managing director of the new consumer revenue group.
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
Reach aiming for full coverage across England & Wales
Reach has announced that it will have a local news brand in every county in England and Wales by the end of the year, creating more than 50 journalism jobs in a new recruitment drive.
News
WoodWing appoints CTO
WoodWing has hired Amanda van der Leest-Rasch to the newly-created role of Chief Technology Officer.
News
Naviga acquires RSG Media
Naviga Inc this week announced it has acquired RSG Media, a New York City headquartered media-tech supplier.
News
In Your Area launches litter fines widget
In Your Area is launching a free new #Don’tTrashOurFuture litter fines widget which will identify the success and failures of councils issuing litter fines up and down the country.
News
Gavin Miller to launch ‘The Profitabl Partnership’
Gavin Miller, Managing Director of B2B publisher Ultima Media, is set to launch a new strategic and cost management business, focused on “the business of marketing transformation in the age of Net Zero”.
INTERVIEW
Life beyond Brexit?
The New European launched days after the referendum result in 2016, to give succour to disappointed remain voters. Five years on, what’s its future? Fresh from the recent MBO, Matt Kelly talks to Ray Snoddy about his ambitions for the title.
FEATURE
Covid-19 and the Media: Counting the Pandemic’s Human Tragedy
Coverage of the pandemic matched attention-grabbing human stories with the grim statistics of rising tragedy. Social changes wrought by Covid made the former difficult and the poor numeracy skills of many journalists failed to support the latter.
FEATURE
The Year of the Pun-demic
One thing that has raised a rare daily smile during the Covid gloom has been the resurgence of the tabloid headline. Peter Sands celebrates the craft of the headline writer.
FEATURE
A generational divide?
The recent Harry and Meghan interview sharply divided opinion, largely along generational lines. The young were supportive of the royal couple, the old less so. Much of the press was in the anti-camp too, but is that the right place to be?
News
DC Thomson launches ‘Election Hubs’ ahead of Scottish Parliament election
Ahead of the Scottish Parliament election in May, DC Thomson Media has unveiled a new approach to its election coverage, driven, it says, by innovation in digital storytelling and high-quality journalism.
News
Financial Times appoints Matt Vella
The Financial Times has announced the appointment of Matt Vella as editor of FTWeekend Magazine.
News
The Sun celebrates its volunteer Jabs Army with new TV ad
The Sun’s new TV advertising campaign says thank you to the Jabs Army, recruited by The Sun in partnership with the Royal Voluntary Service, to help the NHS get the nation back on its feet.
News
FT hires Imani Moise to cover US banking sector
The Financial Times has appointed Imani Moise to the role of U.S. banking correspondent.
FEATURE
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