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.
John Lamb’s first job in journalism involved making thirteen mugs of tea every hour in the 1960s. Fleet Street in Kelvin MacKenzie’s day followed, then senior roles at the Birmingham Post, and today he’s still writing headlines. Steve Dyson reports.
Few in the media world need much convincing about the sanctity of press freedom, but further afield, amongst the general public and politicians, the case can be harder to make. The Society of Editors’ Ian Murray has been on the receiving end of some
The Times Scotland together with Royal Bank of Scotland, FWB Park Brown and Dell Technologies have partnered to launch a competition to identify and support the next generation of financial technology pioneers in Scotland.
James Evelegh's editorial from today's edition of InPubWeekly.
This week The Oldham Times celebrates its first anniversary with the launch of a new campaign shining a light on the town’s unsung heroes.
The Telegraph has launched a new pop-up newsletter, Front Row. The daily email bulletin highlights fashion news as it happens from the runways of New York, London, Milan and Paris until October 3.
Margaret McCloskey, the Head of Operations at the NFRN, is to leave the organisation at the end of September.
Findings from the latest Digital Publishers Revenue Index, a quarterly report on UK publishing from the Association for Online Publishing and Deloitte, reveals an increase in digital revenue in the last year, fuelled by continued strong growth in sub
The News Media Association (NMA) yesterday announced the appointment of Tracy De Groose as Executive Chair of Newsworks, the marketing arm of the national news brands.
Lucy Mangan has been appointed as The Guardian’s new TV critic.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has announced that the 71st World News Media Congress, the 26th World Editors Forum and the 3rd Women in News Summit are to be held in Glasgow, from 1 to 3 June 2019.
Reach Printing Services (RPS) has signed a contract to print a number of the Metro titles being published directly by dmg media.
Europe’s press publishers applaud the historic adoption by the European Parliament of the copyright draft directive.
The Sun this week launched the You're Not Alone campaign, calling on readers to talk through their mental health problems with friends, family and professionals.
Reach plc has entered into consultation with staff on proposed changes to the editorial structure of its national newspapers, which will involve job losses.
