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.
DMGT has announced that dmg events has agreed the disposal of Evanta, a leadership and conferences business, to Leeds Equity Partners for approximately £58 million ($94 million) and that the transaction is expected to complete before 30th September,
Vanity Fair will be launched in France as a monthly magazine, website and in digital app form in 2013, it has been announced by Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman and Chief Executive of Condé Nast International.
Baked & Delicious Halloween Special, a oneshot from Eaglemoss, goes on sale 21 September, priced £9.99.
Forbes has announced the launch of its 24th international edition, Forbes Mexico, in partnership with an exciting new publisher in Mexico, MBG.
Multiplatform music brand NME has unveiled its Ultimate Icon issue, a special 60th birthday edition dedicated to John Lennon – the artist NME readers have voted as their greatest icon since the magazine was first published in 1952.
Independent newsagents have reacted with dismay after a new survey revealed that the number of inserts in newspapers and magazines is on the increase.
Shortlist Media, publisher of leading men’s lifestyle weekly magazine ShortList, has announced the upcoming launch of its new digital brand, Mr Hyde.
Already the world’s largest global trade exhibition for the news publishing and media industry, the World Publishing Expo is expanding the conferences and seminars that accompany the event, making it even more attractive for the thousands of visitors
The Financial Times has announced plans to extend its direct licensing to the academic market.
IPC Connect has appointed Tara Hamilton-Whitaker to the position of digital director of IPC Connect, responsible for driving the digital strategy for IPC Connect brands.
The National Readership Survey Ltd (NRS) has appointed Alison Finch as its new Director of Client & Insight.
FIPP will launch the first ever edition of the FIPP World Digital Media Factbook on 20 September 2012.
Ad ops are the unsung heroes of successful online ad campaigns. Yet, if online publishers are to grow ad revenue and market share, writes Tim Faircliff, then they are going to have to completely reassess their approach to ad ops and the people who wo
The regional newspaper editor has become something of an endangered species. Title closures, frequency changes and company restructures have all taken their toll. Former Lancaster Guardian editor, Sue Riley, looks at what some of her erstwhile collea
The deep recession and the Leveson Inquiry are resulting in major changes in journalistic training, including new courses in business and finance reporting and media ethics. Steve Dyson finds out more from Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the Natio
