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.
The competition, now in its sixth year of showcasing the most creative examples in cross-media publishing, is looking for the best smartphone / tablet apps from newspaper and magazine publishers.
Intuition Communication, one of the UK's leading web publishers in the healthcare sector, is using Video Direct’s nationwide wholesale video production services to help advertisers create and promote video content on their websites.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum represented the global newspaper industry at far-flung commemorations of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.
The Press Complaints Commission has upheld a complaint against the Staffordshire Newsletter after it published material that had the potential to identify a child victim of sexual offences.
WoodWing Software has announced that eMerge Consulting has become a Technology Partner, bringing its Scriba XML technology to WoodWing’s worldwide customer base.
Titan Publishing has announced the launch of a brand new comics app, featuring Tank Girl and Lenore comics, available on iPhone and iPad for the first time.
Retail giant Asda and UK Power Networks are joining the party to celebrate the best of local and regional journalism.
A pioneering new eco-font for newspapers – believed to be the first of its kind in the country – which cuts down on ink but does not alter quality, has been developed by specialists at regional media company Archant.
The Press Complaints Commission has upheld two complaints against the Courier & Advertiser (Dundee) after it published material that was likely to contribute to the identification of two girls who had been victims of sexual offences.
Amazon has announced an update to Kindle for Android that brings new features and adds support for tablet computers running Android's Honeycomb, including the Motorola Xoom.
Future, the special-interest media group, has announced the inaugural TechRadar Phone Awards – the UK’s “biggest celebration of all things mobile phone”.
The Association of Online Publishers (AOP) has revealed the shortlist of nominees in its tenth Digital Publishing Awards 2011.
The nominations for The 2011 Newspaper Awards, the awards dedicated to excellence in news media production have been announced.
Media Trust and The Sun have come together to launch Column Idol 2011, an initiative to find raw undiscovered writing talent fronted by music star Jessie J.
The Press Complaints Commission has announced the appointment of three new public members of the Commission.
