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 World Digital Media Awards, which were presented at this week’s IFRA World Publishing Expo and Digital Content Expo (DCX), recognise publishers that have created ground-breaking digital products that engage readers while increasing online busines
The Mail on Sunday yesterday announced that it will increase its cover price from £1.70 to £1.80 this weekend.
Lineup Systems, makers of the advertising sales platform Adpoint, this week announced that Vocento, the largest publishing group in Spain, has selected Lineup to centralise its advertising sales technology on one platform.
The Stationers Company Warrant was introduced by Past Master Helen Esmonde in 2014 and recognises and promotes excellent products and services.
THINK is a new, digital vertical from NBC News providing thoughtful commentary and opinion stories and video to audiences on the NBCNews website.
By using powerful images from news scenes around the world, the campaign highlights the authenticity of real news stories and newsbrands’ role in conveying complexity and emotion.
The Guardian has announced the launch of The Party - A virtual experience of autism, the publisher’s latest virtual reality (VR) project.
Trinity Mirror plc yesterday published a trading update for the third quarter of 2017.
The Guardian’s virtual reality (VR) experiences are now accessible to more people on both iOS and Android devices for the first time, with the launch of a new Guardian VR app for Cardboard.
Following the launch of the Cambridge Independent in September 2016, family-owned publisher Iliffe Media launched a second Independent title, in Bishop’s Stortford, on 4th October 2017.
James Evelegh's editorial from today's edition of InPubWeekly.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) has announced three appointments to its Complaints Committee: Nazir Afzal OBE, Miranda Winram and Andrew Pettie.
Google has announced that it has removed its First Click Free (FCF) requirement for ‘Search’ and is, in its place, offering ‘Flexible Sampling’.
Newsquest must invest in its new acquisitions in Wales and north west England and not, as its record shows, pursue a round of cost cutting without a care for the quality of journalism and the service to local readers, says the NUJ.
The Society of Editors has questioned whether press regulator Impress can continue after it admitted some of most senior board members had breached its standards.
