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.
Imagine Publishing was today recognised for the second successive year by the annual Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 league table as one of the UK’s best performing private companies in terms of profit growth.
Jonathan Bowman, editor of TV&Satellite Week is to leave IPC Media on 20th June after 12 years at the company.
Look, IPC’s weekly fashion magazine, has joined forces with fashion retailer Simply Be to launch its first clothing collection, available to consumers from April 22.
As TeamRock celebrates its first birthday this week, it has announced future plans for the business.
Bauer Media UK has announced changes to its UK-wide sales force to provide its client and advertising partners with the best advertising solutions to access its 22 million UK consumers.
The Guardian and the Washington Post have been awarded the highest accolade in US journalism, winning the Pulitzer prize for public service for their groundbreaking articles on the National Security Agency's surveillance activities based on the leaks
The Financial Times’ chief information officer (CIO) Christina Scott has been named third in the CIO 100, an annual list recognising the most transformative CIOs in the UK business economy.
Love Sewing, a new monthly magazine from Practical Publishing International, goes on sale 24 April, priced £5.99.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is on the move, both literally and figuratively.
Livingetc, the modern homes title, has published an interactive issue; bringing the magazine’s pages to life like never before and marking a first in the interiors magazine market, say the publishers.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) is to launch a new online polo channel in partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre on Tuesday, 15th April, dedicated to providing the latest news, match reviews and coverage of the sport.
The following complaints have been recently resolved by the PCC to the satisfaction of the complainant.
The Executive Committee of WAN-IFRA, meeting in London on 11 April, endorsed the findings of the organisation’s press freedom report published following a fact-finding delegation of international editors visited the United Kingdom earlier this year.
Rhapsody, the cross-publishing and pre-media specialist, has announced that it has successfully retained the IPC Media pre-media contract, signing a renewal of the agreement until December 2016.
A ground-breaking collaboration between Club Wembley and Wallpaper* magazine has seen the stereotypical perception of corporate hospitality transformed with the leading design publication giving the Directors’ Box at the famous stadium a modern style
