VIEW FROM THE STATES
After Newsstand’s Fizzle, Will Apple’s News App Deliver?
Apple’s recent announcement of its soon-to-be-released News app has stirred things up a bit. Karlene Lukovitz gauges publisher reaction.
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
FEATURE
Newspapers and the 2015 Election
The UK national press devoted many acres of newsprint to covering the 2015 general election, much of it highly partisan. Tim Luckhurst looks at how Fleet Street covered this election and how that coverage compared to elections past.
FEATURE
Wearable tech – will it take off?
Is wearable tech the next big thing, or will it prove to be something of a damp squib? Apple’s recent entry into the smartwatch market has certainly shaken things up a bit. Martin Belam ponders the potential for publishers.
FEATURE
Investigative journalism – a new golden age?
The state of investigative journalism is looking particularly healthy, and we’re not just talking about the Times’ Andrew Norfolk. The emerging non-profit newsrooms and news networks are changing the rules of the game and exposing dark deeds. Peter P
FEATURE
Does Your Subscription Offer Have the Feel-Good Factor?
Human beings have evolved to act on the emotional response evoked in the brain by stories. And that means copywriting that targets the same part of the brain has a better chance of success, says Andy Maslen.
FEATURE
Life after editing
From beekeeping to running multi-media workshops in Africa, and from teaching bushcraft to good old sub-editing. Steve Dyson discovers what life’s like for six ex-editors.
FEATURE
Search 2015 – Search Goes Small Screen
As the screens we use get smaller, so does the pressure to ensure that only useful search results get displayed on them. Google is ramping up its efforts to improve the user experience and, writes Amanda Watlington, publishers need to continually rev
SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
Capital collaboration
Since its launch in November 2014, Newssolutions – the publisher-facing team at News UK – has been sharing its vision for the sustainable future of the UK newspaper and magazine industry. In the third part of the series, Martin Maynard focuses on New
INTERVIEW
Jeff Henry - interview
Last year, Archant appointed as its new chief executive Jeff Henry, a man who had never worked in newspapers before; someone whose whole media career had been spent in television and film. An intriguing choice, but, as Jeff explains to Ray Snoddy, al
News
Stylist and Ford partner to find UK’s next top stylist
Ford Fiesta and Stylist join forces to find the UK’s most talented new fashion stylist. The search – entitled #FiestaStylista – will launch in Stylist Magazine, on Stylist.co.uk/fiestastylista, Emerald Street and across social media on Wednesday 15 J
News
World’s press demands release of jailed Ethiopian journalists
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum are calling for the release of all journalists still jailed in Ethiopia after a week in which six of their colleagues were freed.
News
Mirror reveals 'Rumour Wire' tool for transfer speculation
The Mirror has built an online tool for tracking the Twitter activity of footballers across Europe’s top leagues, in a bid to get one step ahead on transfer speculation.
News
Outbrain appoint Lee Gibson as head of sales UK and Ireland
Outbrain, a global leader in content discovery, announces the appointment of Lee Gibson as Head of Sales for UK and Ireland.
News
Tribute edition of EADT for its former editor
A special tribute edition of Archant’s East Anglian Daily Times was printed for the funeral of former editor Ken Rice.
News
Johnston Press acquires Brighton & Hove Independent
Johnston Press plc announced on Monday that it had concluded a deal to buy the Brighton & Hove Independent.
