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.
About to board a plane to London to attend the FIPP World Congress, we grab five minutes with Hutch Hicken, co-owner, president, and chief technology officer of digital edition specialists BlueToad, Inc.
Counter Terrorism Policing has collaborated with The Sun to reach millions of 11-16 year olds with the first-ever safety campaign aimed at children and teenagers to help keep them safe in the event of a terror attack.
Tomorrow sees the unveiling of a revamped iWeekend.
James Evelegh's editorial from today's edition of InPubWeekly.
Newsquest Media Group announced yesterday the acquisition of NWN Media Ltd (NWN), the publisher of 13 local news brands across North and Mid Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire.
JICWEBS – the independent body that defines best practice and standards for trusted online ad trading in the UK – has announced the next stage in the move to tackle online ad fraud.
The Guardian has developed Ad Manager - a self service ad tool for small and medium sized businesses in the UK, which launched yesterday in beta.
Following publication of an article headlined “The terror law chief and the 'cover-up' that could explode UK's biggest bomb trial”, published on 5th March, Max Hill complained to IPSO that the Mail on Sunday breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editor
The Manchester Evening News yesterday launched its #WeStandTogether campaign, in partnership with the Peace Foundation and Greater Manchester Police.
The Society of Editors yesterday spoke out to condemn the reported threats of violence towards the BBC’s political editor at the Labour Party Conference.
James Evelegh’s roundup of some of the news stories that caught his eye during July and August.
Hyperlocal publishing is not new; the humble parish mag dates back to the 1850s after all – but the arrival of digital and the decline of some of the big regional publishers has opened up new opportunities over the past decade. As Nick Turner reports
Did British newspapers discriminate against migrants during the EU referendum campaign, ask Martin Moore and Gordon N Ramsay.
Sometimes it’s the simplest insights that make the biggest difference. As Milton Elias tells Ciar Byrne, realising that most people hold their smartphones vertically has led to a significant reappraisal of News UK’s video offering.
The automation of certain news gathering tasks has long been talked about, but recently has come one step closer to reality with a new initiative at the PA, funded by Google. Will robots take over the newsroom, Ray Snoddy asks PA editor-in-chief, Pet
