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.
Newspaper executives from four countries have been elected to the Board of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers during the organisation's Annual General Meeting in Vienna, Austria.
A&N Media, the consumer media division of DMGT has announced that it has agreed to merge the online property business of its Digital Property Group, which includes FindaProperty.com and Primelocation.com, with those of Zoopla Limited operator of Zoop
Special interest media group Future Publishing has unveiled a pioneering deluxe iPad edition of Guitarist magazine.
Imagine Publishing has announced the launch of 20 of its premium magazine brands on Apple Newsstand.
The winners for the 2011 Observer Monthly Awards were announced at a ceremony in London last week with Michel Roux Senior, Heston Blumenthal, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Yotam Ottolenghi amongst the winners.
Guardian News & Media has announced its Guardian iPad edition is now available on the App Store.
The ABC has released the following statement in response to the widespread coverage about some aspects of the Wall Street Journal Europe's circulation in the press.
The Financial Times is increasing its Monday to Friday cover price from £2 to £2.20 from Monday 17th October and is increasing retailer margins pro rata.
Mag+ today announces that a dozen of its client magazines stock Apple’s Newsstand as it launches.
Future Publishing today announces the launch of 55 titles on Newsstand, the exciting new home for magazine subscriptions on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, launching as part of iOS 5.
Hearst Magazines UK, the Hearst Corporation’s principal UK business, today announces that 21 of its iPad titles - 18 monthly and 3 weekly - are now available on Newsstand, a key feature of iOS 5.
Dawit Isaak, who left Sweden for Eritrea to help build the country's independent press - and was imprisoned for his efforts – has been awarded the 50th anniversary Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of News
The Press Standards Board of Finance (PressBoF) announced today that Lord David Hunt will be the next chairman of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). He will take up his appointment on 17th October.
The world's press opened their annual summit meetings Thursday with a call for greater press freedom in the Middle East, and acknowledgement of the role that media – both new and traditional – played in democratic uprisings.
Keith Perch, editor of the Leicester Mercury, has resigned from his position.
