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.
Look, the weekly fashion magazine, is launching a major multi-platform street style franchise driven by user generated content. The development will boost consumer engagement and grow website traffic, claims the publisher.
Extensive reforms to Britain's outdated defamation laws have begun today (11 May) with the publication of the Defamation Bill, Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke announced.
Incisive Media welcomed six students from the Kids Company Urban Academy to its hi-tech studios in the heart of Soho last week.
FTChinese.com has announced the official launch of a new channel, Lux Avenue, which offers readers profiles and stories about the luxury industry, highlights new trends in luxury products and provides a window into an international designer lifestyle
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has announced a partnership with Information TV, in collaboration with Aurasma, which will see the delivery of its first commercial augmented reality campaign for St. Kitts Tourism Authority.
Former Hull Daily Mail editor, John Meehan, started tweeting a year ago and now he’s hooked! Forget PA, he says, Twitter should now be every journalist’s newswire.
Many regional newspaper editors have lost their jobs in recent months, often in mid-career. But Doug Melloy retires on his 65th birthday this June, after three decades as editor. Steve Dyson reports.
People who work in publishing companies are not short of creativity. Many, says Howard Scott, are brimful of ideas. What holds many of them back is the stifling corporate culture in which they work, where new ideas are not nurtured.
“Like” it or not, Facebook is a phenomenon that’s not only shaking up the way people meet and interact, but also the way they discover, shop and recommend. Jo Bowman talks to publishers about how they’re going social.
In the current climate, the chairmanship of the much maligned PCC might not appear a particularly enticing position. Yet, former Conservative cabinet minister, Lord Hunt of Wirral, jumped at the chance. He explains to Ray Snoddy why he wanted the job
The inclusion of the defamation bill in the Queen’s Speech represents a major step towards libel reform, comments Andrew Terry of Eversheds.
The latest addition to the 2012 Media Pioneer shortlist is The Media Briefing, built around an innovative content aggregation platform and adept use of social media, writes Carolyn Morgan.
Specialist media group and leading digital publisher, Future Publishing today announces a number of management changes within its Entertainment portfolio of video game and film brands.
The International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulation (IFABC) is hosting its annual European meeting this week in Stockholm to talk about the future of global measurement standards for the media industry.
Runnersworld.co.uk, the running website published by Hearst-Rodale UK, has announced two ‘Personal Bests’ for April 2012 in online traffic and advertising performances.
