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.
With entry for this year’s AOP Awards now open, we grab 5 minutes with the co-chairs of the judging panel – Hayley Cochrane and Robin Shute – to get their take on the key digital trends and ask them for any tips on submitting award winning entries.
Readly continues to expand its portfolio by adding five regional newspapers from Scotland and Wales to the platform.
Gold Key Media were this week presented with the inaugural ‘Corporate Sponsor of The Year Award’ at the Project Wingman Awards Ceremony.
PressReader has partnered with Qatar Airways to integrate its all-you-can-consume digital newspaper and magazine content with the airline’s Oryx One app.
Reach has appointed Martin Little, currently Digital Content Director at JPIMedia, in the newly created role of Audience Transformation Director.
The Board of Archant has announced that Lorna Willis has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer.
News UK has frozen its Direct Delivery Charge review until December 2021 to support retailers in the fall out from the global pandemic.
The Federation of Independent Retailers has welcomed the forthcoming 10p increase on weekday editions of the Daily Mail and has thanked the publisher for maintaining margins at 22.3 per cent.
Reach is helping businesses reconnect with customers as lockdown measures are gradually eased with £1 million of free marketing support through an initiative called #BackForGood.
Acast has signed Tortoise Media to its network of publisher partners — which includes the BBC, the Guardian, the Financial Times, The Economist, gal-dem and Hearst.
Political propaganda leaflets masquerading as local newspapers are back. In response, the NMA is launching a new campaign – ‘Don’t Be Duped’. Henry Faure Walker has written the following open letter to the public to explain why.
DC Thomson Media has been chosen to take part in this year’s Google News Initiative (GNI) Subscriptions Lab.
Telegraph Media Group this week announced the outsourcing of print advertising sales to dmg media’s advertising arm, Mail Metro Media.
Reach plc is to increase home working as part of its future working arrangements, post-lockdown, across all 110+ titles and 70+ regional Live sites.
FreeFeatures, a recently re-launched service, says it aims to help media owners in the UK who have been limited in their ability to create new content because of coronavirus restrictions and furlough.
