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.
WAN-IFRA and civil society groups express hope that laws criminalising free speech will finally be repealed; Liberia committed to reform in 2012 but has so far failed to retract legislation.
Haymarket’s Practical Caravan has launched a new-look website with a focus on travel, just in time for the 2014 touring season.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) today announces the launch of its new digital channel, Telegraph Cars, providing users with “impartial and trustworthy advice on buying the right car”.
All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group Chair Priti Patel MP has called for a review into the newspaper supply chain during a debate in Parliament on Wednesday.
Guardian Australia this week announced Walkley award-winning Cartoonist, Andrew Marlton, will join its ranks next month.
Immediate Media Co is creating an interactive pre-school app based on the much loved, best-selling picture book Dinosaur Roar!
Where did we come from? Where are we going? Why does the universe exist? What happens after we die? New Scientist seeks to answer these questions and many more in a brand new title, New Scientist: The Collection, being released on 26 March, priced £9
In February, NewBay Media has announced that Mark Burton has been named Managing Director of NewBay Media Europe | Intent Media.
The Guardian website has recorded its third record traffic month in a row, according to the latest digital ABC numbers.
The following complaints have been recently resolved by the PCC to the satisfaction of the complainant.
Simon Hughes MP has said there will be two significant consultations on the Freedom of Information Act this year.
dmg media's digital recruitment business disposes of specialist job board.
Guardian US has been awarded the Roy W. Howard Award for Public Service Reporting by the Scripps Howard Foundation for its coverage of the NSA revelations.
FourFourTwo, the world’s biggest-selling football magazine, has announced the launch of Football Weekly, a brand new cross-platform digital publication.
Poppet Magazine, a new four-weekly magazine from SkyJack Publishing, for girls based on the character from Moshi Monsters, goes on sale 27 March, priced £2.99.
