News
News UK unveils latest signings to Times Radio
News UK this week unveiled the latest signings to Times Radio, including Aasmah Mir, Stig Abell, Luke Jones, Jenny Kleeman, Matt Chorley and Cathy Newman.
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
Jewish Chronicle rescued
Agreement has been reached for the rescue of the Jewish Chronicle.
News
SoE seeks assurances about Coroner’s hearings
The Society of Editors is to write to the Chief Coroner to seek assurances hearings will be held in public after a number of inquests were staged behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 crisis.
News
SoE welcomes Electoral Commission’s call to end misleading techniques
The Society of Editors has welcomed the Electoral Commission’s call for an end to misleading electoral campaign techniques by political parties that attempt to ape real media outlets.
NEWS
European Digital Media Awards – winners announced
The winners of the WAN-IFRA European Digital Media Awards were announced on Thursday, 23 April - with 7 out of 9 coming from Nordic countries.
News
SoE: Beware too-draconian measures to clamp down on misinformation
The Society of Editors has warned of the dangers posed by too-draconian measures to clamp down on misinformation as part of its evidence to the Future of Journalism inquiry.
News
The Sun helps deliver toiletries to NHS workers
The Sun is launching the Fabulous NHS Care Package to give toiletries to healthcare workers as “a small token of gratitude”.
News
UK slips two places in the Press Freedom Index
The UK has been ranked in 35th place in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
News
Harry and Meghan letter amounts to censorship says Society of Editors
The Society of Editors has expressed regret over the announcement by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that they will boycott several UK newspapers.
News
Gold Key Media supplying copies to NHS staff
Gold Key Media is working with NHS hospitals on the frontline in providing their Wellbeing Units with a range of complimentary newspapers and magazines each day.
News
Guardian to document health workers who have died from Covid-19
The Guardian has launched a new project to remember those who have lost their lives working in the NHS during the coronavirus outbreak.
News
Government partners with newspaper industry on Covid-19 ad campaign
The government and the newspaper industry have formed a three-month advertising partnership to help keep the public safe and the nation united throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
News
Telegraph launches ‘coronavirus-free’ newsletter
The Daily Telegraph has launched a ‘coronavirus-free’ newsletter for readers who wish to find news on topics other than the pandemic.
News
Guardian Labs partners with Vodafone on multi-platform campaign
Guardian Labs is working with Carat and Vodafone on an extensive multimedia campaign to highlight how families can use technology to entertain, educate and bring them together during lockdown and beyond.
News
Welsh Government provides emergency funding to Welsh hyperlocals
Welsh members of the Independent Community News Network have been awarded emergency grant revenue funding of £8,500 by the Welsh Government.
