FEATURE
AI: time to crack on
Publishers have been talking about AI for years and usage is steadily increasing, but are we moving fast enough? Charlie Beckett says there’s a real risk of publishers being left behind.
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
FEATURE
Ask no questions…
Is the press holding our new PM to account? With one or two exceptions, writes Liz Gerard, the answer is ‘no’.
REVIEW
Fine words, lofty ideals: what difference will it make?
In July, the UK and Canadian governments hosted a major conference in London on media freedom. The subject matter was laudable, the intentions honourable, but will it make a real difference? Jon Slattery reports.
NEWS ROUNDUP
What's been going on...
James Evelegh’s roundup of some of the news stories that caught his eye over the last couple of months.
MEDIA FUTURES
M&A taking centre stage
When analysing the latest Media Futures results, one thing that stood out was a big increase in M&A activity. Jim Bilton looks at the whys and wherefores.
COMMENT
Prepare for sale
Looking for the right publishing strategy, but not sure where to start? Preparing your company for sale, even if you have no intention of selling, should set you on the right track.
News
The Drum Content Awards 2019 – shortlist announced
The Drum has announced the shortlist for its 2019 Content Awards, which take place on 30 October.
News
New award honours Rosemary Smith
The Data Protection Network has announced a new award – The DPN Rosemary Smith Award for Responsible Marketing – in honour of Rosemary, who died in April.
COMMENT
Show me the money
It’s very easy to get carried away by lots of pleasing looking website development plans, full of lovely new bells and whistles, but are they worth it? Successful publishing is all about asking the right questions.
News
Guardian launches new series: The Age of Extinction
The Guardian this week launched an ambitious year-long project focusing on biodiversity and the variety of life on our planet.
News
NUJ condemns Paisley attack on political editor
The National Union of Journalists has condemned as "unwarranted and unworthy" an attack on Belfast News Letter political editor, Sam McBride, by DUP MP Ian Paisley.
News
The Guardian hits 1 million subscribers on YouTube
The Guardian announced last week that it has reached 1 million YouTube subscribers on its main video channel.
NEWS
FT looks to set the agenda with new brand platform
The Financial Times is calling for a better form of capitalism with its new brand platform, The New Agenda, launching this week.
News
Victoria Coren Mitchell joins The Telegraph
Victoria Coren Mitchell has joined The Telegraph as a new television columnist it was announced last week.
REVIEW
What would Jeff do?
The findings of the latest Media Futures research were recently unveiled by Jim Bilton. James Evelegh went along to hear how publishers are doing…
