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.
The Government has announced that proposals to remove the requirement for Traffic Regulation Orders to be advertised in local newspapers are to be abandoned following a strong campaign against the changes by the NS and the industry.
Shortlists for the Society of Editors Press Awards, celebrating the best of British national newspaper journalism, have been announced.
A former NCTJ student from Glasgow Caledonian University is celebrating today after winning the award for top-performing videojournalism student sponsored by Archant.
Metro, the urban media brand, will issue a 24-page compressed mini edition of the newspaper on Monday 11 February in partnership with Unilever.
The government of Malawi has pledged to further support media freedoms after meeting with an international delegation of press freedom organisations, which is campaigning for the repeal of criminal defamation and insult laws across the African contin
Johnston Press has gone a full 12 months without any lost time accidents - and the print sites have gone 13 months without any lost time accidents.
The March issue of Weight Watchers magazine, published by River Group, hits the shops this week and it's ground-breaking for many different reasons.
Marie Claire, the premium fashion glossy, has appointed Tom Usher, as its new creative director.
Zest, Hearst UK’s monthly health and fitness magazine for women, has been redesigned to reflect the wellbeing zeitgeist.
Completely, a new comic series for children, from Titan Publishing Group, goes on sale 21 February, priced £3.99.
At Home With Hello Kitty, a new weekly partwork from RBA Coleccionables, aimed at young girls, goes on sale 13 February, at an introductory price of 99p.
The February / March issue of Chaat! unveils a new design and suggests how lovers can begin their new life together with a wonderfully colourful Asian-themed wedding.
This year’s Local Newspaper Week will be themed around press freedom, highlighting the importance of local newspapers freedom to scrutinize authority and hold the powerful to account.
This week saw the publication of a landmark report entitled ‘Advertising Pays: How Advertising Fuels the UK Economy’. The report was prepared by Deloitte for the Advertising Association and launched at their second annual LEAD summit in London. Marti
The Professional Publishers Association (PPA) has announced that it will be publishing its first-ever PPA Combined Circulation Chart for the July-December ABC figures, to be announced on February 14.
