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.
BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment & Games, in collaboration with Immediate Media Co, brings leading pre-school title, CBeebies Magazine, to the Apple Newsstand on iPhone and iPad, priced at £2.99.
Recent research shows that a majority of tablet owners watch TV while using their tablet.
Future’s technology websites, TechRadar.com and T3.com, saw all previous traffic records smashed with the launch of the Apple iPhone 5 this week.
Guardian Media Group (GMG plc) has appointed Oliver Rawlins as group director of communications.
IPC Media yesterday announced the death of Cathy Neale, advertising director for IPC Classified and Innovator. Cathy passed away unexpectedly from a sudden illness.
The Guardian iPad edition has been re-launched as The Guardian and Observer iPad edition, ready for the first iPad issue of The Observer to be unveiled on Sunday 16 September.
Molly Blooms Christmas Carnival, a new oneshot from Practical Publishing International, goes on sale 20 September, priced £7.99.
Incisive Media will launch a new UK edition of the leading iPad publication Popular Science later this month.
Editorial Intelligence, the networking business, has announced the category shortlists for The Comment Awards 2012, celebrating the achievements of the finest UK print and online commentators and their editors over the past year.
The Financial Times’ luxury lifestyle magazine How To Spend It has unveiled a new look to its website, howtospendit.com, with enhanced speed and design.
ELLE UK has appointed award-winning US Creative Director, Suzanne Sykes, to lead the creative direction of the brand in the UK.
An innovative glossy hyper-local London magazine, the Fulham Resident, has been unveiled by Archant London.
Marketforce, the newstrade sales, marketing and distribution company, has announced the appointment of Adrian Hughes to the newly-created role of publishing services director.
From yesterday, magazine publishers have compelling new evidence to show how they have expanded their activities across multiple content platforms and, in many instances, how their brands are achieving ever-greater audience engagement and reach with
Isabelle Kountoure has been appointed as fashion director of Wallpaper*.
