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.
Piano, a subscription commerce and customer experience platform, has joined forces with AT Internet, a France-based company with expertise in digital analytics and contextual data.
News UK has begun its rollout of placements for out-of-work young people through the Government’s Kickstart Scheme.
Diet Coke has teamed up with digital magazine and newspaper subscription service Readly to offer fans a new “Diet Coke break experience”.
The Society of Editors has announced the shortlists for its annual Press Awards, celebrating the best of national journalism.
Nadine White joins The Independent as the first Race Correspondent in the title’s 35-year history, reporting on issues affecting the lives of people of colour and exposing stories of racial injustice.
The BBC’s former political editor Brian Taylor has joined The Herald in a major expansion of the newspaper’s Voices section.
One of three men accused of assassinating investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta in 2017 has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty.
Budding journalists from under-represented and lower income backgrounds can get a start in the media thanks to an initiative supported by the Daily Mirror and the New Statesman.
The Federation of Independent Retailers has praised Smiths News for acting on its members’ concerns by suspending any review of its carriage charges for 12 months.
The Guardian has announced the appointment of Robin Raven as director of product, digital reader revenues.
Commuters, once so helpfully packed together, have scattered to the four winds. Yet, writes Magazine Heroes’ Dan Collins, those people are still out there and still want your title. You just need to find them.
Are women under-represented in the top echelons of publishing companies? If so, why?
The Standard has launched the second edition of the Be London’s Headline competition, offering creative teams, planning agencies and brands the opportunity to “paint London with their message”.
Facebook is to lift its ban on news content in Australia after reaching a deal over changes to the proposed new laws to force the digital giants to pay for content.
The Society of Editors has called for clarity from the Scottish Government on its plans to protect freedom of expression under its proposed new Hate Crimes legislation.
