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.
Dulcie Lee, a 23-year-old mathematics and physics student from King's College London, was last week announced as the winner of the 2017 Anthony Howard Award for Young Journalists.
James Evelegh's editorial from today's edition of InPubWeekly.
The Guardian and Screen Australia have partnered for a new initiative which will fund up to three commissioned documentaries, providing Australian film-makers with the opportunity to reach an international audience.
The International Federation of Journalists criticises the latest guidelines from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on comment sections of media outlets that were released on August 25, 2017.
The Guardian yesterday announced the public launch of theguardian.org, a new non-profit to support “quality independent journalism around some of the most pressing issues of our time”.
A parish council has been accused of censorship after preventing a Cambridge News reporter from naming councillors who spoke at an emergency meeting.
Canvasflow’s latest platform release sees a range of new features and updates designed to help further streamline the digital workflow and provide more control over how publishers manage their content.
The National Union of Journalists has welcomed a report by the London's Assembly's economic committee which calls on the Mayor of London to show real leadership in standing up for local news as local newspapers become "an endangered species".
James Evelegh's editorial from today's edition of InPubWeekly.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned about the pressure applied by Chinese authorities which forced a prestigious University publication to block online access to more than 300 articles on its website.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) last week called on the press watchdog, IPSO, to carry out an immediate investigation into the prevalence of Islamophobia, racism and hatred espoused in the British press.
Terry Hunt, editor of the East Anglian Daily Times for the last 21 years, has announced his decision to retire at the end of September.
The BBC has chosen a technology provider to make its pioneering Local News Partnerships with the UK’s regional news industry a reality.
Tracey joins from City A.M., where she held the role of news editor for 18 months.
The magazine will provide the last word on the weekend's action.
