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.
Ingenta Audience, powered by Enreach, the latest addition to the Ingenta Advertising package, allows digital publishers to sell online newspaper and magazine advertising space by leveraging programmatic buying capability.
The Sunday Times has announced the appointment of Lorraine Candy to the newly created position of luxury content director of the newspaper and editor in chief of Style.
After more than 44 years working on daily newspapers, Nigel Pickover, Editor-in-Chief of the Eastern Daily Press, has announced that he will be retiring at the end of 2016.
Hampshire-based sales and marketing agency Spread the Word Media has announced a partnership with mapping specialists Maps4News.
Guardian US last week announced funding of $550,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to produce a year-long series of sustained and deep reporting on the growing homelessness crisis in the western United States.
Midlands News Association (MNA), in conjunction with PCS, has been awarded Best of Show and winner in the Best Virtualisation & Cloud Infrastructure Project category at the Best of VMWorld Europe User Awards.
The Financial Times has unveiled a new "Facts. Truths." marketing campaign promoting its coverage of the US election as Americans prepare to go to the polls on November 8.
The London Evening Standard and The Independent have launched an apprenticeship programme which seeks to encourage greater diversity in newsrooms.
Bloomberg has announced the launch of Bloomberg Radio London on DAB digital radio across Greater London.
After 50 years in Lower Brook Street, regional publisher Archant moves to new premises in Princes Street.
The Telegraph has signed Ryan Giggs as an expert columnist to bring his unique insight to its football coverage.
Kent based digital software company opens new central Boston office.
A new division that aims to improve the creative quality of ads served programmatically, in turn improving people’s experience with online ads, is being launched by RadiumOne, a leading data-driven marketing technology business.
The Atlantic shoots interactive video on location in London as part of an ambitious native advertising campaign for Jaguar.
The Financial Times held its annual Digital Learning Week on October 10-14.
