News
Local World reports record audience growth
In-house figures for January show that Local World’s audience growth is among the fastest in the industry.
News Media
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.
Essential Resources
FEATURE
Returning to growth
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.
Best Practice in Publishing
News media
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…
INTERVIEW
Stand and deliver!
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.
INTERVIEW
Change before charge
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.
INTERVIEW
Ditching the generic
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.
INTERVIEW
The Observer’s premium future
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.
FEATURE
Opportunities & Threats: National News Media
What’s the outlook for national news media in 2024? Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent, looks ahead.
FEATURE
Breathing new life into local media
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.
OPINION
We Need Trusted News Brands Now More Than Ever
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.
OUT & ABOUT WITH ALAN GEERE
Weekly does it
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.
All Articles
News
Air Business appoints Nick Frazer to its executive team
Air Business, the international mail, fulfilment, distribution and integrated subscriptions management bureau, has appointed Asendia’s director for wholesale, Nick Frazer to join its executive team as sales director.
News
Hearst debuts new mobile sites for ELLEUK & Company
Hearst Magazines UK has launched innovative and responsive mobile products for both ELLEUK and Company.
News
Times and Sunday Times announce partnership with Spotify
The Times and Sunday Times have announced a strategic partnership with Spotify that will offer - from Sunday February 9, 2014 – a year’s free Spotify Premium to annual subscribers of The Times and Sunday Times’ Digital and Ultimate Packs.
News
World’s Press calls for release of Ethiopia’s jailed journalists
WAN-IFRA and the World Editors Forum have condemned the continued imprisonment of Ethiopian journalists under the country's Anti-Terror Proclamation - including the 2014 Golden Pen of Freedom laureate Eskender Nega - and have called for their immedia
News
MPP announces Latin American operation
MPP Global Solutions has announced an expansion into South America to tap into the thriving global digital content market that is projected to grow to $42bn by 2015.
News
Johnston Press boasts record digital audiences
Strong editorial content on new-look local websites helped to deliver record digital audiences for Johnston Press in January, says the company.
News
EPC criticises EC’s Google decision
The European Publishers Council (EPC) strongly criticises Competition Commissioner Almunia’s announcement on Wednesday that he is to settle the anti-trust case with Google, despite the search giant’s refusal to address blatant anti-competitive practi
News
Irish Times chooses MPP for First Venture into Paid Digital Content
The Irish Times, one of the most widely read newspapers in Ireland, has selected MPP to deliver an online payment solution to support the Digital Edition of their newspaper.
News
Two new editors appointed at Media Scotland
Trinity Mirror has announced significant appointments at two of Scotland's best-read newspapers.
News
Dovetail appoints new Head of Data
Dovetail Services, the subscriptions marketing and fulfilment company, has announced the appointment of Debbie Prewett in the newly created role of Head of Data.
News
New partwork: Military Watches
Military Watches, a new fortnightly partwork from Eaglemoss looking at military-inspired watches and timepieces, goes on sale 19 February, at a launch price of £3.99.
News
The BMJ publishes major new series
The BMJ yesterday launched a major new series that will provide in-depth reviews of important areas of clinical medicine and academic inquiry.
News
Lords Recommend Greater Role for Ofcom in Media Mergers
The House of Lords Communications Select Committee has recommended that Ofcom should take a lead role in deciding whether media transactions should go ahead citing the KM Group’s aborted acquisition of seven weekly Northcliffe titles as evidence of t
News
London to Host Digital Media Awards and Conference
WAN-IFRA has announced the call for entries for the annual European Digital Media Awards, which honour individuals and news publishing companies that have created ground breaking digital products that engage readers while increasing their online busi
