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.
Future plc, the international specialist media group and leading digital publisher, has appointed Tino Cennamo to the new post of Managing Director of International Businesses with a brief to identify and develop new business opportunities to generat
NI Group has announced the launch date for ‘Sun+’, The Sun’s new exclusive entertainment package.
Johnston Press has signed a partnership with Cherry London to develop quality promotions across their titles that will drive subscriptions and newspaper sales.
Johnston Press has published its Interim Management Statement which has been drawn up for the 18 weeks to 4 May 2013.
The Guardian's Three Little Pigs ad, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), has won the Grand CLIO Award in the film category.
Mike Sassi, currently Editor of The Sentinel in Stoke-on-Trent, has been appointed Editor of the Nottingham Post.
Immediate Media Co, the cross-media special interest content company, announces a brand new look for Craftseller magazine, featuring fresh, stylish content designed with the contemporary crafter in mind.
Mark Wilmshurst, RBI UK Technology Officer has been promoted to Global Chief Technology Officer for the business.
Haymarket Consumer Media’s football magazine, FourFourTwo, has hit the Apple Newstand with a brand new iPad edition.
The World Editors Forum is calling on editors and publishers world-wide to contribute to a new report on how best to manage online comments, including hate speech and potentially libellous statements.
The Guardian has hired Spencer Ackerman as National Security Editor, formerly a senior writer at Wired and blogger for the acclaimed defense blog, Danger Room.
The print publication of Easy Living will be suspended from the July issue, it has been announced by Nicholas Coleridge, Managing Director of Condé Nast Britain.
Trinity Mirror is moving all of its key regional news brands to monthly newspaper sales reporting from the May period onwards.
The Financial Times has launched on Flipboard, combining its authoritative and award-winning journalism with Flipboard’s unique and personalised reading experience.
Luton-based specialist media agency, Silvertoad, have been selected as finalists in 2 categories of the Federation of Small Business (FSB) Bedfordshire Awards 2013, for the second year running.
