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 Financial Times is today releasing its Windows 8 App, available to download for free from the Windows Store and accessible on any tablet, desktop or laptop running Windows 8.
IOP Publishing (IOP) has announced the launch of article level metrics on its journal platform IOPscience.
Immediate Media Co’s magazine portfolio is now available on the Amazon App Store, timed for the European launch of the Kindle Fire tablet and Kindle Fire HD.
The Associated Press will use a wide array of digital tools and innovations to count the vote and cover the results on Tuesday, November 6, when Americans elect a president, Congress and numerous state officials.
The world’s largest trade exhibition for the news publishing and media industry opened in Frankfurt, Germany, on Monday with a reflection of how newspapers have evolved from print to multimedia, making the vital relationship between publishers and te
Bauer Media’s Empire has revealed details of its extensive brand marketing campaign to celebrate the December launch of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Newspaper campaigns or calls to action usually take a while to reap rewards, leading to head-scratching as news teams try to come up with a tale for day two, three, four – or 54.
Independent newsagents erupted in fury, says the NFRN, on Friday morning when copies of the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Independent and i came complete with full cover wrap advertisements promoting Vodafone.
FutureFolio, the interactive tablet magazine creation software business from Future, has unveiled a new partnership with Jamie Oliver and his Jamie Magazine to bring the brand to life in a fully HD interactive edition for the iPad.
Vanessa Kingori, Publisher of GQ Style and Associate Publisher (Fashion) of GQ has been included in the 6th annual Powerlist, a list of Britain’s most influential black people.
IPC Media has secured a significant deal with Reckitt Benckiser to promote Air Wick Filter and Fresh across six brands in the IPC Connect portfolio – Chat, Pick Me Up, Woman, Woman’s Own, Woman’s Weekly and Goodtoknow.
Mash Media, publishers of multi-platform titles in the Conference and Exhibition arena, have appointed Beeline Data Services to manage their audience data.
The Guardian's Eyewitness photography app is now available on Kindle Fire devices via Kindle Fire Newsstand.
Guardian News & Media (GNM) has announced the launch of Guardian Select Video - a private syndication portal that distributes and monetises its digital video portfolio to the Guardian Select publisher network.
Auto Trader, the digital marketplace for new and used cars, is to launch in November a new interactive, digital motoring consumer publication titled ‘ignition’.
