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.
A recent LexisNexis survey found that 11% of lawyers have iPads. Cara Annett, Head of Content Acquisition at LexisNexis, explains their eBooks strategy and what it offers for legal, regulatory and tax professionals.
We’re all fretting about declining circulations; blaming the internet, the weather (that old circulation excuse), and well anything else we can think of. But, writes Jim Chisholm, maybe we’ve simply ceased to exist in the mind of our customers…… err…
The Association of Online Publishers (AOP) has unveiled its first research study “The New Rules of Engagement”.
News International has announced that Clive Milner, Chief Operating Officer, is leaving after 30 years in the company.
Following the success of the World Editors Forum, held with the IFRA Expo in Hamburg in October, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has decided to hold both the Editors Forum and the World Newspaper Congress alongside
FirstPlay, Future’s on-console interactive show for PlayStation 3 (PS3), has announced a new partnership with acclaimed videogame developer Immersive Games.
Following a successful pilot exercise, Newsquest (London) has become the latest UK publisher to join the Wave2 AdPortal community.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum, together with the European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA), have called on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to release two German journalis
TigerSpike, the personal media company, has announced that it has designed, built and powered a range of Time Out Travel Guide apps for tourists across the globe.
The International Herald Tribune (IHT) has released its first news applications for the iPad and the iPhone.
On 17th November, the London Evening Standard today launched the fourth edition of The 1000, showing the most influential people in London.
Future, the special-interest media group, has announced a new partnership with Mirror Group to create GamesMaster branded games content with the Daily Mirror.
The Press Complaints Commission has ruled that a front-page correction and apology published by the Swindon Advertiser constituted sufficient remedial action to a complaint made under Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors' Code of Practice.
The Association of Circulation Executives (ACE) held a certification day to conclude its CDP+ programme, on 17 November at IPC’s Blue Fin Building. James Evelegh went along to applaud.
The latest Media Pioneer award winner is Advanstar. Carolyn Morgan of the Specialist Media Show looks at how they have set up community and e-learning for chromatographers worldwide.
