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.
Archant has announced that its retiring chairman Richard Jewson will now continue in post into the new year after chairman-designate Richard Wyatt resigned from the company board for medical reasons.
The MailOnline achieved more than 10 million average daily unique browsers for the first time ever, as well as a record high 168 million monthly unique browsers, as November was yet another record breaking month, according to figures released by ABC.
Handmade Gifts For Girls And Boys, a oneshot from Practical Publishing International, went on sale 12 December, priced £7.99.
Publish Asia 2014, the annual Asian newspaper conference from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), is set to take place in Hong Kong on 23-25 of April 2014.
MailOnline has broadened its commercial offering by welcoming advertising network A&NY Media to the team.
Metro.co.uk claims to be the UK’s fastest growing newspaper website with social media playing a vital part in its continued growth.
People Management, a magazine for HR professionals, has extended its digital reach with a new smartphone and tablet app.
The special 60th anniversary issue of Playboy, with Kate Moss on the cover, goes on sale 19 December, priced £5.95.
Top Right Group’s MBI adds BRAD to its portfolio to sit alongside shots, Screen International and Broadcast.
Community website, London24.com and the British Basketball League's largest club, London Lions, have joined forces to create the league’s first regional media partnership.
Forbes has announced the launch of its latest local-language edition, Forbes Portuguese Africa, in partnership with ZAP Publishing.
Mag+ has hired Ethan Grey, the former MPA executive in charge of driving digital publishing measurement standards and strategic partnerships, as Mag+ product director.
The Financial Times is extending its content matching service ‘FT Smart Match’ to global advertising clients after a successful initial trial.
Informa plc has announced the appointment of three independent Non-Executive Directors of the Company for a term, with effect from 1st January 2014.
Hearst Magazines UK yesterday announced the launch of Hearst Advertising – a new unified sales structure that will provide agency and client partners with a single point of contact across the media owner’s portfolio of brands, audiences and platforms
