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.
BMJ, one of the world’s leading medical knowledge providers, has announced that is has signed an “Executive Agreement for Cooperation in Health Learning and research” with the Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has announced a new partnership with Glyndebourne which will see The Telegraph become the Festival’s 2014 UK online partner.
Local media publishers have told MPs that the threat to the industry from the BBC is“back on the table” as a result of the BBC Trust encouraging the BBC to develop its licence fee funded local services.
Toby Chapman, editorial development manager for regionals, has been promoted to the new role of group development editor.
Guardian News & Media's print and digital titles - the Guardian, The Observer and theguardian.com - are the most-read quality newspaper combination in Britain, according to the latest NRS PADD (National Readership Survey Print and Digital Data) data
The ABC figures for regional newspapers were published yesterday.
UBM plc this week announced that Tim Cobbold has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer; he will take up his position and join the Board as an executive director on 6 May 2014.
County magazine publisher Archant Life has thrown its weight behind a new year-long campaign from the Prince’s Countryside Fund to raise awareness of and help tackle the problems facing many rural communities.
Time Inc and Google announced yesterday the launch of the Time Inc Global Exchange, an ad exchange that would give marketers programmatic access to Time Inc’s global digital footprint of 116 million consumers.
Dennis Publishing has announced the launch of BrainBox magazine, in partnership with The Green Board Game Company.
Global healthcare knowledge provider BMJ today announces BMJ Innovations - a new quarterly online journal, in collaboration with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
DC Thomson and Dundee City Council have joined forces to bring ‘Bash Street’ to life. The official street unveiling comes in the same month that the Bash Street Kids celebrate their 60th anniversary.
The Press Complaints Commission has rejected a complaint made by Wilton Park School against the Mail on Sunday regarding an article published in January 2013.
Immediate Media Co has announced that it is to launch History Revealed, which it describes as a brand new exciting and action-packed magazine that will bring the past to life for everyone.
80 budding young journalists of the future joined Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, Scottish Sun Editor Gordon Smart and a host of other senior staff from News UK titles in Glasgow for the first ever News Academy conference.
