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.
For most B2C publishers, and for quite a few B2B publishers too, apps are rapidly moving from the wish list of ‘projects we ought to do’, to take centre-stage in future business strategy. Top-down directives are being issued to do something quick, wr
In Russia, writes Jim Chisholm, they say that pessimism is when things can only get worse. Optimism is when things can’t get any worse.
The backlash started this summer. Publishers who had eagerly embraced the openness of the internet and the opportunity to engage in “a conversation” with their readers decided they were fed up with the torrent of anonymous abusive comments on their w
There are hundreds of hyperlocal sites across the UK, all with energetic editors and enthusiastic audiences. But the vast majority make no profit and pay no salaries. Steve Dyson reports on what makes hyperlocal websites tick.
The Association of Online Publishers Census is an annual survey of AOP members’ businesses. The Census is split into an ‘Organisation’ survey published in the Spring, and a ‘Content & Trends’ survey published in the Autumn. Tim Cain summarises the ma
The Sun has unveiled its latest weapon in the battle for the lucrative weekend market...an ‘all new’ 7-day TV listings magazine called buzz. But is this the way to readers’ hearts? Or is it just the latest wheeze from the marketing magicians as publi
MagazineCloner.com has announced the launch of its Version 3.0 software, claiming it to be the most advanced shop-front available for publishers on the iPad.
Cosmopolitan.co.uk claims to have had an outstanding year, increasing its monthly unique browsers by 56% and delivering an ABCe of 765,880 – a year-on year increase of more than 273,500.
Pepsico’s CEO Indra Nooyi has topped the Financial Times’ ranking of the Top 50 Women in World Business for the second year running.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has chosen Malta to host the 2011 World Newspaper Advertising Conference, where publishers and advertising directors from around the world will gather on 24 and 25 February.
The Society of Editors held its annual conference this week, in Glasgow. Amongst the delegates, on the lookout for words of wisdom, was Alan Geere.
Bauer Media's parenting brand, Mother & Baby (M&B), is launching onto a brand new platform with M&B TV.
BBC Focus is the first title from BBC Magazines to launch a monthly magazine ‘app’ for the iPad.
A coalition of international press freedom and human rights organisations have called on the government of Yemen "to end the practice of extrajudicial trials for journalists".
Marie Claire, IPC Southbank’s flagship women’s glossy, has announced the appointment of Helen Russell as digital and online editor.
