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.
Trinity Mirror has announced a new management structure for its Regionals business, including a newly created role of Revenue Director and the appointment of a new Commercial Director.
To mark the release of Warner Brothers blockbuster summer movie Dunkirk, the Evening Standard on Friday created a replication of the paper’s edition from 1940 announcing the news of the rescue for the first time.
Spafax, a leading provider of in-flight entertainment and entertainment curation, media sales, and content marketing, yesterday announced a new major expansion into European markets for its media solutions division.
UK marketers have revised their internet budgets up to the greatest extent since Q3 2007, reveals the latest IPA Bellwether Report published yesterday.
Advertising on digital newsbrand sites is 80% more likely to be viewed than advertising on non-newsbrand sites, according to research by Lumen.
The announcement was made at the Tindle Top Management Conference, held on Thursday 13th July at the Oxon Hoath Retreat and Conference Centre in Kent.
London Evening Standard runs special translucent takeover to celebrate the return of Game of Thrones.
The complaint followed an article published on Mail Online on 4 March 2017, headlined “Time to cool off! Happy (and hunky) Prince Harry enjoys a dip in the ocean as he and Meghan relax on the beach in Jamaica after his ‘wingman’s’ sun-drenched weddin
WAN-IFRA, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, joins forces with a group of leading associations representing the audience measurement ecosystem to support the European Union in its efforts to reform the ePrivacy Directive.
Guardian News & Media (GNM) has announced the appointment of Ana Jakimovska to the role of director of product.
Premium local news publisher co-operative 1XL this week announced it has joined forces with marketing research and technology company AudienceProject to launch an audience transparency initiative.
Newsquest Media Group announced yesterday the completion of its purchase of the Isle of Wight County Press Ltd (IWCP).
The IPSO Appointments Panel announced yesterday that it has reappointed Sir Alan Moses as Chairman of IPSO for a second term.
The use of personal assistant apps on smartphones is showing stagnation and even a decrease in certain cases, partly as people start to use standalone home devices such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home instead of their mobiles to complete everyday ta
Warnings by John Whittingdale that it is unlikely that the government will be able to fulfil its manifesto commitment to repealing Section 40 reflect the serious concerns of the newspaper industry, the Society of Editors has said.
