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.
Bauer Media UK, home to multi-platform brands including heat, KISS FM UK, Grazia, Empire, Magic and Absolute Radio, has announced the promotion of Jo Baldwin to Digital Commercial Director, Bauer Media, to lead increased digital and commercial opport
The Herald has announced a year-on-year increase in paid-for readership in the year to June 2014.
A bespoke multi-media publishing service, Condé Nast Portrait will be launched by the Condé Nast Britain Contract Publishing Division it was announced yesterday.
New independent publishing company Iceberg Press announced yesterday that it has purchased The Simple Things magazine from international media group Future plc.
WIRED has announced the 12 recipients of the inaugural WIRED Innovation Fellowships.
Metropolis Business Media’s electronics industry magazine, Electronics Weekly, is now live on Abacus e-Media’s ADvance platform.
Guardian News & Media yesterday announced that Sally Weale, currently the Guardian's Saturday features editor, will be taking up the position of education correspondent.
Archant Lifestyle has launched 34 of its magazine titles onto the Amazon Kindle Fireplatform. The launch is part of a large scale plan to expand digital audiences and increase exposure of Archant titles across multiple digital platforms.
An affiliate of Sun European Partners yesterday announced the acquisition of the River Group Ltd, a full service, leading UK content marketing agency.
Michael Pollitt is the “man in the Puffa” who has been the Eastern Daily Press’s Mr Farming for three decades.
5 Seconds Of Summer will celebrate their Rock Sound cover debut by appearing on four separate covers of the Summer issue 190 on sale July 16th.
The Yorkshire Post added almost 8,500 sales on Saturday 5th July, boosted by its Tour de France Le Grand Depart coverage - which included a special souvenir edition of its magazine.
The following complaints have been recently resolved by the PCC to the satisfaction of the complainant.
Sir Alan Moses, chairman of the new press regulator, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, will deliver the prestigious 2014 Society of Editors Lecture at the Society’s annual conference in November.
The Regional Press Awards, held on 16 May at the Lancaster Hotel in London, celebrated the best of regional journalism. Jon Slattery applauds the many examples of strong serious journalism that made a real difference to the communities they serve.
