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.
Look magazine has agreed a six figure deal with Pernod Ricard brand Malibu, that will see the brand deliver a three-month multiplatform campaign to amplify Malibu’s fashion credentials.
New client for Abacus e-Media, Investment & Pensions Europe, has chosen to adopt both their Webvision CMS and ADvance Audience Development platforms for their flagship IPE website.
At least 15 reporters and other media professionals have been killed in Syria in the past 12 months, as the safety of journalists continues to be of major concern in conflict zones and elsewhere, WAN-IFRA reported on Wednesday in its Global Press Fre
The winners of the first ever British Society of Magazine Editors’ Rising Stars Awards were announced at 1901 Restaurant at Andaz Liverpool Street on Monday, 3rd June.
Informa Economics Chairman of the Board and CEO Bruce Scherr and Informa Economics President and COO Tom Scott recently announced a new global business expansion program designed to increase the value and geographic coverage of the company’s services
A group of leading publishers and editors from around the world have met with the Thai Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, to discuss how a free press could be the cornerstone of a flourishing Thai democracy.
The World Editors Forum has just published its ninth annual edition of Trends in Newsrooms, which highlights five key trends this year: mobile, innovative storytelling, paid digital content, social media, and data and metrics.
Trinity Mirror hires two senior executives to develop and grow Sunday brands and accelerate the Company’s strategic transformation plan.
The Fish4jobs and the Daily Mirror 'Get Britain Working' bus hits the road this weekend for the launch of the Jobs Roadshow 2013, bringing thousands of opportunities, advice and routes into work to the nation.
Panasonic UK has collaborated with IPC Media, who has created an online campaign to promote the new Smart Viera TV range and Lumix TZ40 camera. Panasonic is the first advertiser to use the new Amplify product, launched in April.
The Scott Trust has announced the appointment of Neil Berkett as chair of Guardian Media Group plc (‘GMG’).
Publishers from around the world met in Bangkok on Tuesday to take steps to establish a new global forum to share experiences and concerns about how content aggregators and search engines impact their businesses.
Tomas Brunegård, Chairman of the Stampen Media Group in Sweden, has been elected President of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
Future, the international specialist media group and photography publisher, has announced the launch of a major new consumer photography tuition event, PhotoLive 2013.
So It Goes, a “new arts and culture journal for people interested in the world around them”, published by WhiteCirc, went on sale 31 May, priced £7.99. The title will be published twice yearly.
