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.
PA Images, a leading news, sport and entertainment image provider, has launched a new website which for the first time will be made available to non-PA customers to transact directly over the web.
The Times Scotland recorded growth of 3.8% year-on-year in April, with sales of 19,247 according to official figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC).
Archant’s daily newspaper editorial, production and printing teams across Norfolk and Suffolk swung into action for the most keenly contested general election in recent history on May 7 and 8.
Around 150 community groups across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex have been awarded a total of £125,000 thanks to Comic Relief and two Archant daily papers.
The London Evening Standard to distribute one million copies for the first time today.
The British Media Awards 2015 took place on Wednesday at The Brewery in London.
News that pro rata terms will be applied to the Daily Mirror when it increases its cover price by 5p to 60p on Monday (May 11) has been welcomed by the NFRN.
Trinity Mirror’s regional titles are preparing for their most comprehensive local election coverage to date, says the company.
Trinity Mirror plc has issued a trading update ahead of the 2015 Annual General Meeting later today.
Outbrain, a leader in content discovery, yesterday announced the hire of Yuval Ben-Itzhak as Chief Technology Officer of its Global Engineering organisation.
Newsquest Media Group announced yesterday two senior appointments to join the company’s recently launched Sales Academy.
DMD and Gatwick Airport have launched Media Wall, described as “a cool new way for publishers to reach international air travelers”.
Deanne Blaylock and Andrew Worden have been appointed as senior editors for East Surrey and Sussex News and Media with effect from 8 June 2015.
Former Account Manager, Charlotte Sayer has been promoted to Head of Content Sponsorship to maximise revenue opportunities across Metro’s current and future platforms.
A new company, N3, has been created to enable independent retailers to further develop their news sales.
