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.
The May edition of the vintage, heritage and interiors magazine, on sale now, includes a range of exclusive additional content that can be accessed by downloading a free app and pointing a smartphone or tablet at selected pages throughout the issue.
Now, the celebrity and style weekly, is marking Victoria Beckham’s milestone birthday with a special edition: Victoria Fabulous at 40, published yesterday, 8th April.
Madgex expands its European presence with a new office in Berlin.
Frank Lampard has taken over as editor of BBC Match of the Day Magazine, Immediate Media’s football title.
Bauer Media has unveiled a new website for Kerrang!, the weekly music magazine.
WAN-IFRA’s latest press freedom campaign highlights the plight of jailed journalists worldwide; 30 cases will be profiled in the 30 days leading up to World Press Freedom Day.
The Beano created a special issue that appeared as a free sampler with The Mail on Sunday, yesterday. The sampler was also made available as a digital edition for Mail Plus subscribers.
On 24 February, Business-to-business publisher Incisive Media announced that it was making major changes to embrace flexible working.
The Guardian has won the IRE Medal for investigative reporting in the 2013 IRE awards.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has agreed a unique cross-Atlantic partnership with Standard Life Investments, the first worldwide partner of The Ryder Cup, and Bloomberg.
Telegraph Media Group has won four major trophies at The 2014 Newspaper Awards, including The Daily Telegraph winning National Newspaper of the Year with judges praising it for its “beautiful design and wonderfully eye-catching pages.”
A new service from sales and marketing technology consultancy 70 Fathoms gives businesses a route to analyse and improve the efficiency of their Marketing Operations Teams.
Evenbase, dmg media's digital recruitment business, has disposed of its job distribution software business, Broadbean, to CareerBuilder and its job search engine, Jobrapido, to Symphony Technology Group.
Hearst Magazines UK yesterday launched a major new editorial brand aimed at celebrating the lives, aspirations and achievements of British women.
Sir Hayden Phillips, chairman of the independent panel selecting the chair and board members for the Independent Press Standards Organisation, has provided an update this week on the process of appointing the chair and board.
