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.
The team has been off for a strategy weekend: two days of whiteboards, post-it notes and warring syndicates. Change has been embraced. Now, the nagging question is, writes Jim Bilton, “Can we actually make any of this happen?”
James Evelegh’s roundup of some of the news stories that caught his eye over the last couple of months.
In March, Evening Standard editor and former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne gave the annual Hugh Cudlipp lecture at Regent’s University in London. Osborne came armed with a big idea. James Evelegh reports.
Fake news is bad news for society, albeit, arguably good news for publishers, writes Dickon Ross. Are you a fake news friend or foe? Here’s three click-bait style quiz questions to help you find out.
Speaking truth to power and informing their readers. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Liz Gerard looks at how the press has performed during the Brexit saga.
The digital age has given us a myriad of opportunities for data journalism. But what exactly is it – and how can regional publishers use these new techniques? Tim Robinson explains how it is becoming a growing part of the content mix.
The BBC finds that the old media habits on which it previously depended have shattered, writes David Hepworth.
When it comes to advertising standards, says David Hepworth, you’re more likely to find unscrupulous behaviour from the amateurs.
More than one speaker at DIS commented that we are living in a “VUCA” world: meaning an environment that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.
One of the pillars of a free society is the right to be able to say things other people disagree with. Yet, as Jodie Ginsberg tells Ray Snoddy, that basic right is constantly under threat, both from authoritarian leaders and increased regulation.
James Evelegh enjoys a city break to Berlin: history, culture and currywurst too.
Study shows that ads which appear around hard news stories elicit more and higher peaks in memory encoding and emotional intensity than ads in soft news stories.
Guardian US has launched a new editorial series and fundraising campaign, Toxic America, a six month project.
News UK has announced that Sun Savers has hit the significant milestone of 1,000,000 members.
Murdered journalist Lyra McKee was honoured posthumously at the Regional Press Awards.
