News
2025 Journalism Matters campaign launches
Journalism Matters: Main UK news organisations call on Starmer to back trusted journalism.
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
Southern Daily Echo surpasses 5,000 digital subscribers
The Southern Daily Echo has surpassed more than 5,000 digital subscribers — a milestone in the newspaper’s ongoing commitment to delivering trusted local journalism in the digital age.
News
Ozone appoints Tom Harrison
Ozone has announced the appointment of Tom Harrison as senior director of growth to strengthen platform presence and expand strategic partnerships.
News
USA: NUJ calls for release of journalist detained by ICE
The NUJ last week joined the International Federation of Journalists in calling for the immediate release of UK journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi.
News
IPSO publishes guidance on user comments
IPSO has published new guidance for journalists on how to manage readers’ comments.
News
AA/WARC release latest Expenditure Report
UK ad spend is forecast to reach £12bn during this festive period, latest forecasts also project total ad spend will top £46bn in 2025.
News
DPG Media Advertising integrates Brand Metrics' technology
DPG Media Advertising integrates Brand Metrics' brand lift technology within its Ad Manager platform.
News
The Press and Journal campaign leads to breakthrough for local homeowners
The Press and Journal campaign has delivered a win for local homeowners trapped by RAAC.
News
Local titles join forces against secret alcohol licensing plans
Local newspapers across the country are to run the same front page cover calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Business Secretary Peter Kyle to abandon proposals to shroud the sale of alcohol in local communities in secrecy.
News
The Guardian hires Michelle R Smith
The Guardian has announced it has hired Michelle R Smith as senior science investigative reporter.
Media Shapers 2025
The hot media companies & brands to follow
The first part of the mediashapers 2025 project looked at the people shaping the media business. Now, Jim Bilton moves on to the companies and brands that everyone is following and copying: a new dimension to the whole mediashapers project.
COLUMN
With a little help from Bob Dylan…
Why does Bob Dylan’s masterpiece, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’, keep playing in Paul Connew’s head as he tries to review the state of Britain’s political, media and public opinion landscape?
REVIEW
Finding your voice: Secrets of successful audio and video content strategy
The focus of the AOP CRUNCH event in September was on how publishers can develop audio and video content to drive both long-term commercial growth and increased brand trust. The AOP’s Richard Reeves picks out the main talking points.
News
London Press Club Awards: winners revealed
Sir Don McCullin and The Times scooped the top prizes at the London Press Club Awards 2025.
Q&A
Human influence in programmatic: 5 minutes with… Anoop Ramachandran
Anoop Ramachandran, CTO at specialist programmatic platform, Preciso, discusses AI’s influence on digital advertising, why humans still play an integral role, and why gaining (and maintaining) consumer trust has never been more important.
