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.
Anyone working in newspapers knows what the three key issues facing the industry are: survival, survival and survival. But, writes Charlie Beckett, as we look around at what’s left after the first digital tsunami of change, this is a good moment to a
What are the digital priorities for local and regional newspapers? Steve Dyson gathers the views of twelve serving editors.
The World Editors Forum and the Open Society Foundations recently collaborated on a research project looking at how news organisations managed reader comments. WAN-IFRA’s Emma Goodman summarises the main findings.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) is partnering with DFS to create Stella Magazine’s first ever cover wrap, this Sunday, 22nd September.
August saw Metro’s monthly mobile traffic up 143% since the start of the year following the brand’s re-design of Metro.co.uk in December 2013.
Buxton Press has announced the appointment of Mark Eaton as Northern Senior Business Manager operating from the company’s Edinburgh office.
Media industry professionals, bursary recipients and their tutors met on Thursday to celebrate the success of the Journalism Diversity Fund. More than 60 guests attended the annual lunch, which this year was hosted by The Sun at News UK, Thomas Squar
YUDU Media has announced the release of AppFactory, an extension to YUDU’s Easi-App product that allows publishers to rapidly create apps for iOS and Android.
Sir Ray Tindle, chairman of Tindle Newspapers, has spoken of plans to launch more newspaper titles and the return to profit of his stable of London titles.
This week saw the launch of the heat Neuroscience Research presented by Paul Keenan, heat Editor in Chief Lucie Cave and Heather Andrew from Neuro-Insight at the Chemistry Centre, London.
China’s leading container association, the CCIA (China Container Industry Association), and Informa Exhibitions have formed a cooperation partnership on the launch of Intermodal Asia 2014.
The British Society of Magazine Editors has announced the shortlist for their annual awards, which will be handed out on 11 November at the London Hilton.
Future has been named Consumer Digital Publisher of the Year for the second year running at the PPA Digital Publishing Awards.
PPA Events is a new channel of the PPA, designed as a platform for publishers to come together, share information, and generate new ideas for their growing events businesses.
Guardian News & Media (GNM) has announced the appointment of Anna Watkins to the role of managing director of its forthcoming commercial proposition, Guardian Labs.
