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.
On-going armed conflicts and insurgency make Syria and Somalia the world’s most dangerous places for journalists, according to the annual figures on journalist deaths compiled by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
Finco has invested in its magazine wrapping facilities by adding a Side Seal unit to its two STS polywrapping machines, designed to enhance the position and appearance of magazines for the newsstand and subscription copies.
Football Extra, a new weekly football betting newspaper, goes on sale 7 February, priced £1.50.
The sixteenth annual GQ Men of the Year Awards will be held in association with luxury lifestyle group HUGO BOSS, it was announced this week.
Haymarket has joined a growing group of major media organisations that have switched to cloud computing services to support growth and improve business communications.
Woman magazine has launched its first beauty awards - the Woman Hot 100 Beauty with Confidence Awards - to celebrate the best hair and beauty products the industry has to offer.
The best of British regional and local newspaper journalism will be celebrated at an Oscars-style lunchtime awards ceremony in London in May, the Society of Editors and the Newspaper Society announced this week.
The Guardian has launched a news app for the new BlackBerry 10 platform.
Mustard Online goes live today with a range of Norwich-based local news, features, entertainment, weather, sport and property video content.
Telegraph Media Group, (TMG), has partnered with Coty Prestige to create a perfumed ‘memostick’ advertisement.
Marie Claire, the premium fashion glossy, is publishing a multi-cover issue for the first time, and has secured support for the initiative from luxury goods group LVMH.
Following a successful beta trial, ABC has launched a new data tool, ABC QuickView.
FHM, Bauer Media’s male lifestyle brand, and Unilever’s VO5 Extreme Style, the leading men’s hair brand, have announced the renewal of their partnership to promote FHM’s campaign to discover the ‘100 Sexiest Women in the World’.
Johnston Press has announced the appointment of Andrew Glover as Head of Video.
Following their recent sponsorship of PPA’s Independent Publishers “Editor of The Year” award, Mail Options are the Distribution Partner for this year’s Publishing & Media Expo.
