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.
Guardian documentary Black Sheep, directed by Ed Perkins, produced by Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn, co-founders of production company Lightbox, and executive produced by the Guardian’s Head of Documentaries Charlie Phillips and Lindsay Poulton, has
A six-year run of continuous overall UK marketing budget growth came to an end in Q4 2018, with a net balance of +0.0% of marketing executives signalling no change in budgets during the fourth quarter.
News UK yesterday announced the first set of changes to its commercial division since it re-launched as The Bridge three years ago.
The board of the Press Distribution Forum has appointed Grant Jordan as the new Chair of the Press Distribution Forum.
James Evelegh's editorial from today’s edition of InPubWeekly.
To promote the debut of Stan & Ollie, the story of Laurel and Hardy’s triumphant farewell tour featuring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly, eOne has launched a multi-platform campaign with Evening Standard.
The Association for Online Publishing (AOP) yesterday announced a collaboration with organisational culture consultancy PROJECT 23, to focus on employee engagement, health, and wellbeing for its publisher members.
The World Media Group (a strategic alliance of leading media brands) has published a new survey into content-led marketing.
The NFRN has announced that it has secured an increase in the payment that Mail Newspapers makes to home delivered newsagents when third party advertising inserts weigh more than 70g.
The Telegraph this week announced the appointment of William Sitwell as a writer and commentator.
Simon Redlich, ABC’s Chief Executive, has been elected onto the Executive Committee of IFABC (the International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Certification).
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) this week published a list of 94 journalists and media staff killed in work-related incidents during 2018.
Reach publications including The Mirror, Express and Daily Star will partner with leading men’s health charity Prostate Cancer UK to produce online and print content in addition to an eight-page booklet, which will be handed out at nine Premier Leagu
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) has announced new appointments to its Board and Complaints Committee. They will take up their posts from 1 January 2019.
The surprise news at 10am on Tuesday that Jose Mourinho had been sacked by Manchester United prompted some quick thinking from the Evening Standard and their football partners Paddy Power-Betfair.
