News
Covid-19: Reach issues update on “Key Mitigating Actions”
Yesterday, Reach PLC issued an update on the actions it is taking in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
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
New lifeline for struggling independent retailers
The Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) is throwing a lifeline to its members who are facing severe hardship with the launch of a new fund.
News
WAN-IFRA urges Pakistan to release Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman
In a letter to Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, WAN-IFRA and the World Editors Forum called for the release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman while the decision on whether to take his case to trial is made.
News
NFRN expands Shop Local, Shop Little campaign
A poster and national newspaper advertising campaign encouraging people to Shop Local, Shop Little is being expanded with the launch of a series of social media advertisements.
News
National Press Awards 2019 – winner announced
The results of the Press Awards for 2019 have been announced, with big wins for The Telegraph, Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday as well as the Guardian, Times and Sunday Times.
News
Glasgow Times delivered free to care homes
The Glasgow Times is launching a new dedicated service for the elderly that will see free copies of the paper delivered to care homes across the city.
News
Gold Key Media reroute copies
During the coronavirus crisis, Gold Key Media is helping publishers reach their audience by diverting copies to homes and local retail locations.
News
The Argus celebrates 140 years
The Argus in Brighton marked its 140th birthday with a four pages special including its first front pages and birthday messages from MPs, council leaders and their city’s football club.
News
WAN-IFRA President: Quality Journalism in Troubled Times
In an open letter published, Fernando de Yarza López-Madrazo, WAN-IFRA President, has called for short-term financing to overcome the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus.
News
SoE warns of dangerous precedent set by Hungary
The Society of Editors has condemned a decision by Hungary to pass a new set of emergency coronavirus measures that includes jail terms for spreading misinformation.
INTERVIEW
The Sunday Times’ (more) digital future
In January, Emma Tucker took over the editorship of The Sunday Times. In one of her first interviews since then, she tells Ray Snoddy about her plans for the future of the soon to be 200-year-old newspaper.
FEATURE
Business matters
The business pages in many regional newspapers are a pale imitation of what they once were; poorly resourced and consequently not much read. Business impacts our daily lives much more than most of what now passes for news, and merits a comeback.
SUPPLIER PROFILE - GLIDE
How to make your editorial teams soar
Journalists love to create content, so why do some publishers make it so hard for them to do so? Unfit-for-purpose CMS and publishing platforms stifle creativity and leave content creators demotivated and unproductive. It needn’t be this way…
FEATURE
Here come the machines: 5 ways AI will help us create great content
Artificial intelligence can do the heavy lifting of data processing, allowing publishers to increase output, become more creative and reach new markets. It’s a huge opportunity, says Rebekah Billingsley, though not without its potential drawbacks.
INTERVIEW
Nice & slow
Is speed a virtue? Are we serving the public best by being first out of the blocks with every news story? One publisher that thinks not is Tortoise Media, which says it wants to be the best news provider, not the fastest.
