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.
All publishers keep tabs on their own market, monitoring closely what their competitors, readers and advertisers are up to. This is entirely to be expected, but, writes Carolyn Morgan, it’s a good idea to investigate what strategies publishers in com
On 8th June 1972, Associated Press photographer Nick Ut snapped what was to become one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century. Margie Mason recounts the impact that photo had on the nine year old girl at its centre, Kim Phuc.
morgenweb.de, the leading news platform for the Rhein-Neckar region of Germany, has successfully completed a major re-launch. The portal chose Atex Web CMS as the web presence of Mediengruppe Dr. Haas GmbH.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), is moving its World Publishing Expo from Madrid to Frankfurt in October 2012 in response to exhibitors’ requests for a more central European location for their customers.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum have called for greater support of press freedom in Ukraine amid concerns about the state of democracy in the country.
The Wall Street Journal has expanded its video programming from Asia with the launch of Asia Today, a live show featuring the latest news and developments in Asia.
The Office of Fair Trading has approved the Nottingham Post Media Group’s acquisition of the Nottingham and Long Eaton Topper.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has launched a multiplatform campaign in partnership with Lexus, brokered by Newcast, to promote the launch of the new GS model and brand proposition ‘Creating Amazing’.
Johnston Press has completed the first phase of relaunching its paid-for titles with 22 newspapers unveiling their new designs during the week ending June 1.
The Economist’s 2011 European brand campaign, ‘Thinking Spaces’, showcases the inspiring places all over the world where people go to think, reaching a community of more than 40,000 fans. The Economist has marked the success of that campaign by launc
The Midland News Association, publishers of the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, has appointed a new electronic editor to develop content across its online platforms.
Steven Hamilton has been appointed as Head of Commercial Digital at KM Group.
ABC UK has issued the first ever public certificates of capability to four Content Verification (CV) tools across 10 performance indicators.
To celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, The Times and The Sunday Times are opening up their websites to everyone this weekend.
Empire, the movie magazine, has announced it is to enter its sixth global market with the launch of the Empire U.S. iPad edition.
