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 regional press has seen substantial circulation declines, yet total readership is growing via the internet. Steve Dyson asks the experts about the reasons for change, future prospects and whether national organisations should still engage with th
What is the total reach of a newspaper brand? This is the question that has vexed industry bodies since the dawn of the web. In its search for an integrated print and digital audience currency, the regional press is ahead of the game, says JICREG’s R
The Mail has a winning formula, and there aren’t too many national newspapers you can say that about at the moment. Mail MD Guy Zitter talks to Ray Snoddy about wine stoppers, cruises and ... profits.
Video Direct is providing its live web-streaming services to Flight Global Magazine as part of the title’s presence at the Farnborough International Air Show.
Pius Njawé, the Cameroonian publisher who was killed in a traffic accident last week, was "an authentic and truly rare hero" in the struggle for press freedom in Africa, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) said in a tri
FTAdviser.com, part of the Financial Times, has announced that it has selected the Pluck social media platform from Demand Media, Inc. to power Canary Towers, an online community site developed specifically for independent financial advisers (IFAs) i
Journalists like to keep it simple. So, writes Jon Slattery, with the Times’ paywall story the simplest way to see it is to divide the media into two camps.
The 2010 AOP summit will be held at the Westminster Bridge Park Plaza on 15 October.
Digital Technology International has announced that it has opened an office in France, situated in Paris. From there DTI will manage sales and service for its customers in France and all French-speaking countries outside the Americas.
Melcrum’s Strategic Communication Forum, a research and advisory service offering best practice internal communication guidance to some of the world’s leading companies, has appointed Rebecca Richmond as research director.
Callcredit Information Group will be providing direct delivery subscription services for The Guardian Newspaper, after demonstrating a successful track record in managing subscription services for other national media owners.
David Fordham of Iliffe News & Media is the new chairman of the Independent Publishers’ Forum, and John Fry of Johnston Press has become chairman of the PERA (Political, Editorial & Regulatory Affairs) Committee.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu of South Africa has endorsed the Declaration of Table Mountain, a media industry call to African heads of state to repeal insult and criminal defamation laws and place a free press higher on the political agend
The Wall Street Journal Europe is to launch expanded and enhanced Life & Style content in the autumn, leading with a new-look Weekend Journal, its Friday arts, culture and leisure section.
Jancis Robinson, the famous wine writer, is the latest Media Pioneer award winner. Carolyn Morgan uncorks her secrets to a successful online subscription service...
