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.
David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband have been issued with a fierce challenge by local press editors in their constituencies who oppose statutory regulation of the press.
Mag+ has introduced its new Mag+ App SDK (Software Development Kit), which opens the Mag+ engine to publishers, agencies and app developers.
New NFRN research shows that newspaper sales are affected when publishers extend their cut off times into wholesale houses.
Seven recently held a successful Content Revolution Workshop as part of Internet Week Europe 2012.
Auto Trader, the digital marketplace to buy and sell new and used cars, this week unveiled a brand new monthly interactive tablet publication called ignition – produced by content agency FuturePlus using their app creation software, FutureFolio.
Archant staff are reaping the fruits of their labours after being awarded a second Green Apple Award in recognition of a continuing commitment to sustainability.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the International Press Institute (IPI) have demanded that Mexican federal and state authorities immediately investigate the murder of a freelance journalist in the central Mexica
Propeller Mobile has worked with Guardian Media Network to create a free app for the Guardian Mobile Business Summit 2012.
IPC’s Homes Group continues to grow its digital footprint with Friday’s launch of its first iPad app, Country Home Ideas.
This weekend, the Financial Times unveiled a new look to its FT Money supplement, featuring new sections and a refreshed design.
On Friday 16 November, the PPA released a new media effectiveness study, Magonomics, at an industry event held at The Science Museum, London.
Midland MPs tell the Express & Star that regional titles like the Express & Star should not be tarred with the same brush as the tabloids that hacked phones.
The immediate past chairman of BMA Council, Dr Hamish Meldrum, and Dr Kiran Patel, a consultant cardiologist, are joining the BMJ Group Board as non-executive directors from November, 2012.
Auto Trader reports that the number of its unique website visitors reached a record 11 million in October, up from the previous record 10.9 million in September and the 10.2 million at the beginning of the year.
New research into the effectiveness of magazines, launched yesterday by IPC Media, has found that every £1 invested in magazine advertising generates an average ROI of £1.40.
