News
Digital Publishing Awards: shortlist announced
The Association of Online Publishers has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Digital Publishing Awards.
News Media
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.
Essential Resources
FEATURE
Returning to growth
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.
Best Practice in Publishing
News media
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…
INTERVIEW
Stand and deliver!
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.
INTERVIEW
Change before charge
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.
INTERVIEW
Ditching the generic
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.
INTERVIEW
The Observer’s premium future
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.
FEATURE
Opportunities & Threats: National News Media
What’s the outlook for national news media in 2024? Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent, looks ahead.
FEATURE
Breathing new life into local media
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.
OPINION
We Need Trusted News Brands Now More Than Ever
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.
OUT & ABOUT WITH ALAN GEERE
Weekly does it
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.
All Articles
COLUMN
8 nuggets from our Subs Acquisition Special
James Evelegh picks out some of the key takeaways from our recently published Subscriber Acquisition Special.
News
Impress releases research
New research carried out by Impress, in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, has uncovered that a large majority of the UK population are not accessing independently regulated climate change news.
News
Digital Media Awards Worldwide: shortlist announced
WAN-IFRA has announced the shortlist for the Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2025.
News
Guardian unveils carbon literate sales team
Guardian Advertising has announced that it is one of the first media companies in the world to train its entire sales team to be certified Carbon Literate.
News
The Independent marks Earth Day
The Independent is marking Earth Day with special features and donation to Surfers Against Sewage for the second year running.
News
IPA releases latest Bellwether report
The Q1 2025 report shows that UK marketing budgets decline for first time in four years but year-ahead plans stay upbeat.
News
Commission publishes final report
The Times Crime and Justice Commission’s year-long project has taken evidence from over 500 witnesses and published a ten point plan to modernise the country’s criminal justice system.
News
MNA Digital expands reach
MNA Digital has announced its expansion into Derby and Nottingham, bringing its digital marketing solutions to businesses throughout the East Midlands.
News
The Independent announces partnership
The Independent has announced its return as exclusive global news partner of Mighty Hoopla 2025.
Q&A
Taking control of programmatic: 5 minutes with… Pierre Orlac’h
Publishers face challenges on a number of fronts, but are reasserting themselves and taking control of their own destiny. Pierre Orlac’h, chief supply officer, Sparteo, explains how.
Q&A
Puzzles: 5 minutes with… Lynda Newland
People like playing puzzles. Fact. So, explains Puzzler Media’s Lynda Newland, if you incorporate puzzles into your content offering, then you can increase dwell time and retention and as well as other marketing KPIs.
News
Ryan Uhl promoted
Mail Metro Media has announced the promotion of Ryan Uhl to the newly created role of managing director, revenue strategy and implementation.
REVIEW
AOP CRUNCH: Driving growth through branded content
Spring hasn’t sprung until CRUNCH takes place, writes Richard Reeves, MD of the Association of Online Publishers, which recently held its first CRUNCH event of the year. The mood was suitably optimistic for a change of season.
News
Daily Mail reaches Instagram milestone
The Daily Mail has announced it has reached a social media milestone with over five million followers across all Instagram accounts.
