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 Racing Post, the daily horse racing and sports betting newspaper, has selected MediaCore, a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system from Belfast-based software company Aetopia to power its online Photo sales site.
The European Publishers Council (EPC) has succeeded in getting its idea for 21st century copyright management accepted as one of just seven “Big Ideas” sought by the European Commission to forward its Digital Agenda strategy.
Trinity Mirror is making two new senior appointments to its National and Regional digital teams with the goal of accelerating digital revenue growth.
A new mobile site for guardian.co.uk launched yesterday with an enhanced design, faster updates and a range of new features.
Imagine Publishing has launched an all-new website – Apps – to complement the recent roll-out of Apps Magazine.
IAB Europe has released half yearly figures from a number of national Interactive Advertising Bureaus, revealing healthy double-digit growth in online ad spend despite the continuing challenging economic environment across the region.
News Corporation has released the following statement following Business Secretary Vince Cable’s decision to refer News Corp’s planned £12bn bid for full ownership of BSkyB to Ofcom.
TigerSpike, the personal media company, has announced that it has worked with the Times to develop the new iPad app for the newspaper’s monthly science magazine, Eureka.
Sky Magazine Live recently won the Digital Magazine of the Year award at the inaugural Digital Magazine Awards. Bruce Hudson looks at how digital magazines are evolving.
Change in the media world is accelerating, as digital media consumption and advertising continues to grow while traditional media remains stable or is in decline in many markets, according to World Digital Media Trends 2010 from WAN-IFRA.
Guardian News & Media has launched its first series of 'Masterclasses', a new hands-on approach to learning led by world-renowned figures.
In the rapidly changing world of technology, how on earth are media companies meant to keep up with the pace of change? IT departments must ditch traditional methods, says Kelly Waters, and embrace new ways of working.
News International has announced that the new digital products for The Times and The Sunday Times have achieved more than 105,000 paid-for customer sales to date.
The Press Complaints Commission has upheld a complaint against the Wanstead and Woodford Guardian under Clauses 1 (Accuracy) and 6 (Children) of the Editors' Code of Practice.
Dennis Publishing, publisher of Auto Express, Evo, The Week and Expert Reviews, has announced the launch of new car review website CarBuyer.co.uk.
