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.
ABC has announced that Jerry Wright, Chief Executive of ABC since 2008 and President of the International Federation of ABCs from 2010 to 2014, will be stepping down from the post at the end of 2015, after more than seven years in the role.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), yesterday invited the world's press to attend the 68th World Newspaper Congress, 23rd World Editors Forum, and 26th World Advertising Forum, to be held in Cartagena, Colombia, from 8
City A.M., London's business newspaper, has this week appointed Christian May as its new editor.
Marcelo Rech, the Executive Director of Journalism for the RBS Group in southern Brazil, has been elected President of the World Editors Forum, the organization within the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) for chief edito
Tomas Brunegård, former Chairman and CEO of the Stampen Media Group in Sweden, has been re-elected President of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) for a two-year term.
It was on June 3 1815 that the first edition of The Patriot, which was later to become The Cumberland News, first rolled off a press in Carlisle.
From The Washington Post and Vogue Italia to Australian metropolitan and regional publications, Qantas customers can now access nearly 4,000 titles on the newspaper and magazine platform, PressReader.
Safety and the dangers facing journalists worldwide were the dominant themes on the opening day of the 67th World News Media Congress, currently underway in Washington D.C.
The Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom award of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), has been dedicated in 2015 to all Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty.
Guardian News & Media (GNM) yesterday announced that Lee Glendinning has been appointed editor of Guardian US.
News UK has announced the launch of Sun Play, described as a fun new gaming app for mobile, tablet and desktop, offering free and real money cash games that bring to life the key themes of The Sun brand.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers has called on governments, international institutions and the media industry itself to prioritise journalists’ safety and has denounced the state of impunity that surrounds the murder of journal
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Financial Times on Wednesday launched the Chicago Forum on Global Cities.
Devon and Cornwall Media has appointed two new acting editors to lead its stable of weekly titles in Cornwall while current Editor Jacqui Walls is on maternity leave.
Andrew Campbell has been appointed Editor of the Daily Post in Wales.
