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 third edition of Essential Public Affairs for Journalists by James Morrison is now available to pre-order from the NCTJ online shop at a special price of £19.99* (rrp £22.99) + postage.
This week, the BMJ - one of the world’s leading medical journals - takes to the road to talk to senior health professionals and political leaders across India.
Telegraph Media Group, publisher of The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Telegraph and The Telegraph weekly world edition, has announced that it has acquired a majority equity interest in VOS Media Ltd.
Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) have announced the launch of the website foodserviceconsultant.org to coincide with the release of the new quarterly print magazine Foodservice Consultant.
A new custom publishing division is being launched by special interest publisher Raconteur Media that will offer businesses the opportunity to build their own publications and specialist content.
Rhapsody will be giving an exclusive preview of Edesign, the new editorial plug-in for Emagine, at the forthcoming Publishing and Media Expo show.
The Pre-Spring edition of i-D magazine features seven covers, including four of Kate Moss. The issue goes on sale 7 February, priced £6.
News Corporation has announced two senior management appointments for the New News Corporation, the proposed global publishing entity to be formed as part of the Company’s intended separation into two independent, publicly traded companies.
The Future Media Lab has published a follow-up report for the Future Media Lab conference “creative funding for creative media”, which looked into innovative funding schemes for quality and investigative journalism in Europe.
Regional press use of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 could be put at risk by the Government’s resurrection of the Labour Government’s proposals to allow refusals on costs grounds by way of aggregation of requests and time constraints, the Justic
Cedar has announced that Harriet Cooper is the new editor of The London Magazine – the lifestyle and property title.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has promoted Teresa Machan to the new position of Cruise Editor.
The PPA has announced that Miranda Sawyer will be hosting the New Talent Awards 2013.
Oppolis, developers of a software solution that allows publishers to create, manage and review print and digital publications from a single package, have launched a new product - Pitch App.
Hearst Magazines UK, the Hearst Corporation’s principal UK business, has appointed former Turner Broadcasting (CNN International) Ad Sales Senior Vice President, Max Raven, to the newly created role of Group Revenue Director.
