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.
Every year, the AOP surveys digital publishers and their solutions providers to get a cross-section of the industry’s outlooks and priorities. Richard Reeves looks at the key trends from this year’s survey.
The print sector is consolidating. One way for publishers to avoid the uncertainty that this creates, is to spread the risk, by using more than one printer, as Roularta Printing’s Steven Renders tells James Evelegh.
Welcome to a new media age, writes Dickon Ross, where traditional media and professional journalism have been pushed into the wings.
FT Strategies’ Joanna Levesque explains how data and insights can drive revenue and engagement.
Carole Cadwalladr has identified multiple serious threats to western democracies, yet government and the population at large seems remarkably unfazed. Ray Snoddy meets her.
In the pre-digital age, journalism carved out its own special marketplace by convincing society and policymakers of its unique worth. It’s now time for journalism to create the equivalent for the digital age, says Douglas McCabe.
Christina Lamb, chief foreign correspondent of The Sunday Times, has helped redefine war reporting by exposing injustices to women and girls and highlighting the plight of people living through conflict.
Digital businesses and campaigners tell Keir Starmer parliamentary sovereignty and UK democracy are not for sale.
Paul Connew offers a personal take on why the US president is so obsessed with turning the postwar global economic order into dangerous disorder and looks at how the UK press is reporting the looming trade war.
Mail Metro Media has promoted Lauren Dick to the newly created role of managing director, media & commerce.
A successful checkout experience is one that evolves in response to real customer behaviour, says Jamie Nunn, head of products at CDS Global.
Frequently changing their creative and messaging is a key part of Newsquest’s marketing strategy, says Susanne Kinnaird, head of digital reader revenue.
Ideally, says Mike Halstead, managing director of HH&S, successful engagement marketing requires multiple points of contact across various channels.
CWC Software has choosen to transition all of its clients to Pelcro.
ACE has announced the shortlist for the Newspaper and Magazine Awards 2025.
