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.
What a summer. The Lions won in Australia, Andy Murray took the Wimbledon title, Chris Froome stormed to victory in the Tour de France, the Ashes were retained – and, writes Jon Slattery, the British press got back its mojo.
It is perhaps telling that not having any newspaper experience is nowadays considered no bar to running a newspaper company. Former BSkyB executive Mike Darcey certainly had none when he was chosen by Rupert Murdoch to head up News UK, but, as he tel
Celebrating the start of London Fashion Week, ES Magazine has launched a special Deluxe fashion edition designed specifically for iPad and Kindle Fire tablets.
The Times and The Sunday Times have launched Times Tutorials to help parents with the high costs and limited availability of private tutoring.
Protein Journal, a new alternate monthly magazine about modern culture, went on sale on 13 September, priced £5.
ELLE UK has partnered with London’s Somerset House, the home of London Fashion Week, to launch a unique exhibition of 20 images featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes access to designers including Tom Ford, Mulberry, Christopher Kane, and Erdem as the
Centaur Media plc, the business information, events and marketing services group, has published its full year results for the year to 30 June 2013.
The Sun has announced that Victoria Newton has been appointed editor of The Sun on Sunday. She will continue to report to David Dinsmore, Editor of The Sun.
Lisa Templeton has been appointed Editor of the North Devon Journal. She has been Acting Editor of the title since May.
Haymarket Consumer Media has announced the appointment of Lee Williams as executive director of PistonHeads, reporting to Patrick Fuller, group director.
The European Newspaper Publishers’ Association, WAN-IFRA, and the World Editors Forum have welcomed the decision of the District Court in Neuchâtel in the case of prominent Le Matin journalist Ludovic Rocchi that protects journalists’ sources and def
Grazia magazine, Bauer Media’s weekly glossy for upscale women, will see a record-breaking number of advertising pages this September, reaching over 400 advertising pages in a month for the first time.
North of Scotland daily newspaper, The Press and Journal, is to produce two new, high-end lifestyle supplements.
Tatler has joined forces with the fashion elite to donate pieces which will be sold in Cancer Research UK shops across the UK from September as part of the first Tatler Treasure Hunt.
Telegraph Media Group has launched a new dedicated online men’s channel, Telegraph Men, and a competition to find the ‘Media Man of the Year’.
