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.
Julie Posetti, an academic and journalist at the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia, will join the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) after securing a 12-month research fellowship to investigate and report on the
Guardian Faber are publishing ‘The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man’ by Luke Harding on Thursday 6 February.
Johnston Press plc this week announced the appointment of Jeff Moriarty as Chief Digital and Product Officer.
TotallyLegal, the job site for legal professionals and part of Trinity Mirror Digital Recruitment (TMDR), have selected Personal Career Management, the career coaching company, to provide TotallyLegal candidates with specialist career coaching suppor
Jobzonen, one of the leading Danish job boards, has re-launched their job board with a brand new design and new features.
Amid deep international concern about press freedoms in the United Kingdom, an unprecedented international mission to London will begin today investigating the British government’s actions relating to newspaper regulation and the handling of revelati
Senior officials from the NFRN have met with Board representatives of the Press Distribution Forum (PDF) to discuss the significant concerns of members surrounding recent late delivery of newspapers.
Ally Owen has been appointed to the role of FMCG Manager within the client sales team at dmg media.
The US-based Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) today announced the formation of a new UK-based organisation, the Information Industry Network (IIN) to support the broad media, publishing and information services industry in Europe.
Nigerian Watch, one of the UK's leading African newspapers, moves from being a monthly to becoming a fortnightly publication from 31st January 2014.
IPC Media’s Insight team, Vodafone and OMD UK have agreed a partnership that will see them collaborate on a five month insight project focused on exploring the future of the family.
The London Evening Standard has this week significantly expanded distribution across the capital.
Computer Arts has chosen Celloglas to apply the decorative finishes to its Graphic Design Annual, choosing a fluted gold foil along with a gloss and Velvet Cellocover varnish using the Heidelberg at the Celloglas Leicester site.
Alastair Campbell is the newest recruit to British GQ, having been commissioned to undertake heavy-hitting interviews covering the worlds of politics, sport, business and media, it was announced yesterday by Dylan Jones, Editor of GQ.
Tim Cain has been appointed Managing Director at the Association of Online Publishers.
