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.
RadioTimes.com has had record numbers of visitors (over 3.54 million unique users in both October and November) and is now the number one visited UK television and radio listings site, says Immediate Media.
Microsoft has chosen Future’s Technology, Games, Film and Auto portfolios to develop a two-month-long campaign to promote the launch of Microsoft’s next-generation console, the Xbox One.
The debut issue of Condé Nast Traveller Middle East is now on sale. The December issue includes the inaugural Condé Nast Traveller Middle East Reader's Choice Awards, as well as fashion shot in Oman.
Telegraph Media Group has announced a new three-year deal with the Hay Festival which will see The Telegraph become the Festival’s exclusive UK newspaper media partner.
Egmont UK, the specialist children’s publisher, has announced that it will be publishing a monthly magazine title based on Disney’s new interactive video game, Disney Infinity.
T3, the multi-platform technology media brand, has announced that Matt Hill has been appointed Editor of the Magazine and Digital Editions with immediate effect.
Condé Nast is to launch a new division devoted to e-commerce and has appointed as its President Franck Zayan, who is currently responsible for the e-commerce activities of the Paris-based department store Galeries Lafayette.
Culture minister Ed Vaizey said yesterday that the Government is “delighted” with the progress the press industry is making to establish the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
A quartet of Archant South West titles have teamed up to help people in need by launching a campaign to boost supplies to local foodbanks.
Andy Duncan, Managing Director of Camelot UK Lotteries, has been announced as the new President of the Advertising Association.
Haymarket Media Group has announced that it will be selling or licensing its nine Australian brands to local publishers. The larger share of its brands will be accumulated by nextmedia.
FHM, Bauer Media’s male lifestyle brand, will have a male cover star, Will Ferrell, for the first time in 20 years.
FutureFolio, the interactive tablet magazine and brochure creation software business from Future, has been chosen to produce a digital edition of the official Peppa Pig Bag-O-Fun magazine.
Michael Gillard of The Sunday Times has been awarded the Journalist of the Year award at the second annual British Journalism Awards.
Following recent press speculation regarding the status of its regional titles in the Republic of Ireland, Johnston Press released a statement on Monday.
