News
The FT appoints James Fontanella-Khan
The Financial Times has appointed James Fontanella-Khan as US finance editor in New York to lead a newly formed team that brings corporate finance, banking and asset management under one tent.
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
News
The National appoints Manus Cranny
Manus Cranny joins The National as geo-economics editor.
News
Digital Media Awards Europe 2025: winners announced
WAN-IFRA has announced the winners of the Digital Media Awards Europe 2025.
News
IPSO statement on editorial practices at the Jewish Chronicle
IPSO has been monitoring concerns about standards at the Jewish Chronicle since 2019, when it identified a significant pattern of upheld complaints at the title.
News
Pride of Britain Fund announces winners
The Pride of Britain Fund has given £100,000 to local heroes across the nation to mark 25th year.
News
The Independent partners with jazz festival
The Independent has announced its return as the exclusive global news partner of Montreux Jazz Festival 2025.
News
Brave Bison Group plc to acquire The Fifth
Brave Bison has announced that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of The Fifth Limited.
News
Publisher Podcast Awards 2025: shortlist announced
Media Voices have revealed the shortlist for the sixth year of the Publisher Podcast Awards.
Q&A
Frictionless payments for publishers: 5 minutes with… Chris Pettit
Chris Pettit, CEO of Revving, talks to us about tackling the financial imbalance in adtech, why publishers feel they are at the bottom of the supply chain, and how boosting the digital advertising industry can also boost the UK economy.
News
Prime Minister praises regional media
The Prime Minister has praised the role of the regional media at a reception held recently in Downing Street.
COLUMN
If it could happen there…
Press freedom is under threat in the most surprising places.
MEDIA FUTURES
Confident agility
2024 was an odd and messy year, writes Jim Bilton. Many publishers felt that they had simply lost control of their businesses in a roller-coaster environment, which was looking increasingly volatile, both politically and economically.
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.
RESEARCH
Journalism, media & technology: trends and predictions
News organisations are braced for multiple challenges in 2025 including attacks from hostile politicians, deep economic headwinds, and battles to protect intellectual property in the face of rapacious AI-driven platforms, writes Nic Newman.
OUT & ABOUT WITH ALAN GEERE
How the Warminster Journal rose from the ashes… after 143 years
While the big guns of the regional press study the gloomy portents about ‘news aversion’ and ‘platform resets’, the independent sector of smaller publishers are still queuing up to have a go, as Alan Geere reports.
