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.
Digital screens and video are the top trends for media buyers in the current media landscape according to the Future of ABC report unveiled at the International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulation’s (IFABC) biennial assembly, which took place
Interactive Investor, one of the UK’s largest execution-only stockbrokers, has partnered with The Telegraph to launch a new investment service; Telegraph Investor.
A new daily, pro-independence newspaper, The National, was launched yesterday aimed at the 1.6 million Scots who voted to leave the Union.
The AOP held its annual autumn conference in London on 9th October. James Evelegh listened as keynotes and panelists spelt out the main opportunities and challenges facing digital publishers today.
A ‘digital first’ strategy that plans editorial around readers’ habits is increasing web audiences and revenues, according to David Higgerson, Trinity Mirror’s online cheerleader. Steve Dyson reports.
In the ideal world, writes Peter Sands, every newspaper publisher would still employ sub-editors. How in the less-than-ideal world we live in, can newspaper publishers cut costs yet still preserve the all-important subbing function?
The sixth annual Content and Trends Census digs below the surface to identify the key challenges facing publishers and their priorities over the next twelve months. Mobile features prominently! Tim Cain looks at this and other themes uncovered by the
Malcolm Starbrook retired in July after 45 years in journalism. In those 45 years, he worked for nationals and regionals, newspapers and magazines, publishers and regulators. In short, he’s seen it all. He tells Jon Slattery that, despite all the dig
The Times app has allowed lapsed print subscriber Jamie Jouning to rediscover the joys of his favourite newspaper and he doesn’t mind paying for the privilege.
The Financial Times has handled digital transition better than most. The result of meticulous planning? A bit of luck perhaps? Or simply because it’s a rock-solid must-read product? Ray Snoddy talks to John Ridding about their enviably successful pub
Research by Cebr for Johnston Press reveals hotspots in research, technology, networking, and creativity to rival capital.
National newspapers and their journalists can enter The Press Awards for 2014 from 10am on Monday 1 December 2014.
Independent.co.uk surpassed 1m average daily unique users in the UK – up 6% month on month from 979,298.
The MailOnline achieved new monthly and daily traffic records in October 2014, in another record breaking month for the website and its apps.
Telegraph Bespoke will be hosting The Telegraph Whisky Experience on Monday 1st December at One Whitehall Place, London.
