News
LUXX magazine returns to The Times this Saturday
The first edition of The Times’ revamped LUXX magazine, curated by new editor-in-chief Jeremy Langmead, is published in this Saturday’s edition of The Times.
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
Editors’ Code Committee announces consultation
The Editors’ Code of Practice, under which the majority of Britain’s newspaper, magazine and news website journalists work, is to undertake a public consultation on how it can be further improved, it was announced yesterday.
News
DMGT publishes 2016 Full Year preliminary results
In the Group’s unaudited Full Year preliminary results for the year ended 30 September 2016, DMGT has reported revenues of £1,917m, in line with the previous year on an underlying basis. Adjusted profit before tax of £260m is down 7%.
News
Clock launches ‘News Retail Plus’ website
Digital specialist Clock has launched ‘News Retail Plus’, the new online hub for retailers of The Sun, The Times & The Sunday Times.
News
Newsworks Planning Awards 2016 – the winners
Newsworks has announced the winners of its 2016 Planning Awards, chosen by a jury of 16 client and agency judges, led by David Wheldon, chief marketing officer of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
News
The Scotsman kicks off 200th birthday celebrations
The Scotsman, yesterday marked 200 years since the publication of its Prospectus in 1816, which set out the ambition and values of the title, ahead of its first edition, published in January 1817.
News
Vanessa Clifford appointed Newsworks’ CEO
Vanessa Clifford, previously interim CEO following Rufus Olins’ departure in October, takes on the role of CEO permanently with immediate effect.
News
The Sun to spread #SmilesAtChristmas
The Sun this week launched its 2016 Christmas campaign with the aim of putting a smile on as many children’s faces as possible this year.
News
Mail takes gift mountain to agencies
MailOnline and Daily Mail sales teams played Santa last week as they toured London media agencies with an “enormous mega gift mountain”.
VIEW FROM THE STATES
Second Inning, New Lineup
It appears that the large consumer magazine media companies are wrapping up the initial stage of transitioning away from print dependence, and bringing in a new (or revised, anyway) lineup of players to tackle the next stage… while further consolidat
PUBLISHER PROFILE
DC Thomson Publishing
The Dundee based company publishes a wide range of titles – magazines for the very young (The Beano), for the not so young (Evergreen), alongside some of the best known newspapers in Scotland (The Press & Journal and Courier). What are the challenges
FEATURE
January = skiing royals; October = Strictly
What would editors do without these and other hardy perennials? Liz Gerard looks at some of the nationals’ editorial short-cuts.
INTERVIEW
David Pemsel - interview
The Guardian has for some time been at the forefront of digital publishing, the standard-bearer of open access web content. With digital revenue and reach growing, the outlook looked bright, until advertising revenues hit the buffers in 2015. Since t
FEATURE
Making time for creativity
Last issue, Peter Preston persuasively pointed out that productivity alone isn’t enough in today’s world of content creation. “A newsroom ruled by the clicks regime will never do something different,” he says. Robyn Bechelet considers the challenge h
REVIEW
Media Quotes of the Year
It was the media year in which the first UK national newspaper abandoned print to go digital only. There were continuing cutbacks, launches, leaks, digital disruption, Boris and Brexit. Here, Jon Slattery picks his best media quotes of the year.
