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.
Classic Rock’s latest fanpack, published by TeamRock.com ‘Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators’, which includes their brand new album, has enabled World on Fire to enter the OCC (Official Chart Company) at No.7.
The Linked Content Coalition (LCC), the media project that recently published its technical framework to improve the management and communication of and access to online rights information, has been re-constituted as a permanent organisation.
Neil Fowler poses the question at the heart of all media – is digital first the answer to all its problems – or is it the final piece in a coffin-shaped jigsaw?
Paul Hood, digital director for Archant, explains how he and his team have created a successful digital business by adopting an agile approach. This has meant adjusting their sails as the wind direction changes in order to maintain momentum towards t
After years of gloomy despondency, the news sector is beginning to regain some of its former bounce, writes Charlie Beckett, and he has identified a number of generational factors behind the brighter outlook.
Over the years, most overt sexist and racist stereotypes have gradually and thankfully disappeared from mainstream media, yet the racial stereotyping of the gypsy and traveller community persists. Until now, this group has struggled to find anyone to
In the whirlwind of modern media consumption, it has never been more important to increase engagement with your publication, be it online or in print. As Martin Stephens, MD of PA Images, tells James Evelegh, pictures are a great way of engaging with
Next May, Jonathan Grun will be stepping down from a role he describes as the best job in British journalism - editor of the Press Association. Jonathan talks to Ray Snoddy about his 36 years at the agency and about how the organisation is adapting t
New speakers include BBC news chief James Harding, media lawyer Gavin Millar QC, digital media journalist and consultant, Matthias Spielkamp and Colette Paul, Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police and Chair of ACPO.
Julie Palmer, Editor of the Hertfordshire Mercury, has been appointed to the new position of Senior Editor for the Herts and Essex business.
On Friday, Telegraph Media Group (TMG) launched a nationwide competition to find The Telegraph Festival of Business’s SME of the Year.
Trinity Mirror boosted its commercial division with the appointment of a further two high-profile digital advertising executives last week.
Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson is Britain's most admired business leader according to a poll of top bosses published today in Sunday Times Business a week ahead of the section's 50th anniversary.
Northern news brands - including The Journal, Chronicle, Northern Echo, Gazette, Yorkshire Post and Manchester Evening News - are issuing a joint call to the three main party leaders to make a promise to the North in the light of their front page vow
The Rural Media Network Pakistan (RMNP) presented its 2014 Sadiq Press Freedom Award, supported by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), to the son of murdered journalist Malik Mumtaz Khan at a ceremony held at Punjab Co
