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.
It’s incredible to think that Lord Leveson produced his report almost five years ago, yet critically important issues remain unresolved. As the UK continues its slide down the World Press Freedom Index, Jon Slattery updates us on this sorry state of
One word that came up repeatedly in the meeting with Warners Distribution was ‘profit’ – not their own, but that of their publishing clients. Too many distribution strategies are focused on one outcome: increased sale, but with little regard to cost.
Praise for personalisation and achieving her prime purchasing objective – pleasing number one. Robyn Bechelet doesn't worship Amazon Prime but she does pay respect.
The press has a long list of challenges, from Section 40 to Google and Facebook hoovering up all the digital ad spend. Ashley Highfield tells Ray Snoddy how the News Media Association is working to tackle those challenges.
The Times is building on its legal coverage by launching a premium service to accompany its email bulletin, The Brief.
Journalists at the Manchester Evening News worked through the night to bring readers live updates of the tragedy unfolding at the Manchester Arena.
In the run up to the general election on 8 June, the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast is transforming into the Guardian Election Daily, with the first episode launched yesterday.
Winners of the Regional Press Awards for 2016 were announced at an awards ceremony held over lunch on Friday 19 May 2017 at the Marriott Grosvenor Square, London.
The Association for Online Publishing (AOP) on Friday announced the appointment of Steve Chester – former Director of Data and Industry Programmes for the IAB – as consultant and advisor, supporting member actions around UK standards including viewab
The Society of Editors has welcomed a manifesto pledge by the Conservative party to repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act if they are elected on 8 June.
Yesterday, The Atlantic introduced a redesigned homepage suited to the rapid pace of today’s news environment, while continuing to prioritize the characteristics and ideas-oriented journalism that have long distinguished The Atlantic.
The Manchester Evening News has launched Emmeline, a chatbot to get people voting on June 8th.
Leading Costa Rican media brand, Grupo Nación, have collaborated with PageSuite to launch five individual newspaper and magazine titles within one PDF-driven container app.
Tuesday, 9 May 2017 saw the formal opening by Greenwich Mayor, Olu Babatola, and Amali de Alwis, Chief Executive of Code First: Girls, of the Stationers’ Digital Media Centre at Stationers' Crown Woods Academy in Greenwich.
Following an article published in the Daily Telegraph on 24 and 27 December 2016, Gordon Brown complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that the Daily Telegraph breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.
