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.
PCS, the independent technology arm of newspaper publisher The Claverley Group, has won recognition for its 'Knowledge' digital content management system for publishers at the annual UK IT Awards, in the Business Project of the Year category.
Marie Claire, IPC Southbank’s flagship women’s glossy, has launched its first iPhone app, Marie Claire Beauty Genius, which, last week, Apple awarded App of the Week.
Digital media and product development expert, Rebecca Miskin, is to work with the National Magazine Company to expand the Cosmopolitan brand across all platforms in the UK.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum have called on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to ensure that widespread attacks on journalists are aggressively prosecuted following the attempted murde
Guardian News & Media (GNM) has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard (CTS) in recognition of its work to measure, manage and reduce its carbon emissions by 28% over the past three years.
A new self regulated forum for companies in the Press supply chain has recently been established. Adrian Smith, chairman of the PDF, outlines its objectives.
Facebook pages are the new customer magazines, says Simon Tapscott, MD of recently launched conversation agency, Jack.
Jerry Wright, Chief Executive of ABC, was recently appointed as the next global President of the International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulations (IFABC).
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has enhanced its website to give readers greater depth of content and a wider range of multi-media. This coincides with the rebranding of the website as The Telegraph, creating one consistent brand across TMG’s digital pla
James Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive, Europe and Asia, News Corporation opened the 2010 Stationers’ Industry Forum on Monday 8 November 2010.
Roundpoint, the web and mobile integration specialist, has developed a new m-commerce site for Runner’s World – a National Magazine Company publication.
The National Federation of Retail Newsagents has issued the following warning about the effect of stealth terms cuts on the income of small independent newsagents.
The NFRN has announced that both Mirror Group Newspapers and the Telegraph have agreed to increase their scale of payments to registered retailers for delivering Third Party Advertising Inserts (TPAIs).
The Press Complaints Commission has upheld a complaint against the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Review under Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors' Code of Practice.
Simon Tapscott and River have partnered to launch Jack, the new Conversation Agency specialising in content and social media.
