News
The New European launches digital edition with Exact Editions
The New European weekly newspaper, published by Archant, has announced the launch of a new digital edition.
News Media
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.
Essential Resources
FEATURE
Returning to growth
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.
Best Practice in Publishing
News media
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…
INTERVIEW
Stand and deliver!
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.
INTERVIEW
Change before charge
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.
INTERVIEW
Ditching the generic
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.
INTERVIEW
The Observer’s premium future
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.
FEATURE
Opportunities & Threats: National News Media
What’s the outlook for national news media in 2024? Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent, looks ahead.
FEATURE
Breathing new life into local media
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.
OPINION
We Need Trusted News Brands Now More Than Ever
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.
OUT & ABOUT WITH ALAN GEERE
Weekly does it
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.
All Articles
News
Mayor asked to step in as seven north London titles close
The NUJ has called on Sadiq Kahn, the London mayor, to step in as seven titles in north London, owned by Tindle, have been closed, plunging the capital's local news provision into a deeper crisis.
News
Bloomberg introduces new China data service
Bloomberg has announced that it will for the first time, provide global investors with data and analytics for the Chinese securitization market through a partnership with CNABS, a specialized solutions provider in China’s securitization market.
News
Huddersfield Examiner Launches New Football Podcast
The Huddersfield Examiner has launched a new Huddersfield Town podcast - Ooh To Be A ... as the club embark on their first season in the Premier League.
PUBLISHING FUTURES
What’s going on in publishing?
In a new regular series, Jim Bilton will drill down into some of the key findings of the Publishing Futures research. In his first despatch, he previews the 2017 survey and looks at some of the early findings.
FEATURE
Well, who saw that coming!
In terms of shock value, the 2017 election result was even more unexpected than last year’s Brexit vote and Trump win! No one saw it coming. Liz Gerard looks at how our national press covered the election and what effect, if any, they had on the outc
FEATURE
A Window of Opportunity
Next February, PAMCo will unveil the first set of figures from its new measurement system, AMP. The publishing industry has invested heavily in developing the new metrics and, given the recent travails of Facebook and YouTube, its release couldn’t co
FEATURE
Challenging times mean challenging the norms
Neil Fowler says that universities are brilliantly positioned to offer radical ideas for the future of news. Have they the nerve to try something different, he asks.
FEATURE
Ad blockers – no room for complacency
A couple of years ago, publishers were truly fearful that their business model was about to be obliterated by ad blockers. Since then, the threat appears to have receded. But, warns Dickon Ross, ad blockers are getting more sophisticated and web brow
INTERVIEW
The Voice of Manchester
On 22 May, a terrorist detonated his bomb amongst the crowds leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. 22 people were killed and many more injured. Not unsurprisingly, the tragedy became one of the biggest news stories of the past decade. The d
IN PRAISE OF
Tweetdeck
There are over 320 million active Twitter users. Much of their output will be of absolutely no relevance to you or your followers. Some, on the other hand, will be of huge interest. How do you home in on the good stuff and filter out the rest? Martin
INTERVIEW
Exceeding expectations
Chief executives are not paid to be downbeat. Visionary, forward-looking, over-achieving is what it’s all about. As the Guardian’s David Pemsel tells Ray Snoddy, having embarked on a three-year plan, they are well ahead of where they thought they’d b
News
Guardian Media Group publishes financial results
Guardian Media Group (GMG) – publisher of the Guardian and The Observer newspapers and theguardian.com – yesterday announced financial results for the 12 months to 2 April, 2017.
News
IPSO launches Global Digital Content Consultation
IPSO has launched a public consultation on the way in which it regulates global news websites as part of its ongoing review of how IPSO’s regulations apply to global digital content.
News
NUJ statement on Johnston Press Scottish titles
NUJ officials and Johnston Press Mother/Father of the Chapels have opened formal talks with Johnston Press management over proposals which could mean the loss of 25 editorial posts across Scottish titles.
