FEATURE
Do you really need an app right now?
You might have noticed the seeming headlong rush by publishers to develop apps. A cool head is needed, says Ryan O’Meara to make sure you make the right choices and for the right reasons.
News Media
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.
Essential Resources
FEATURE
Returning to growth
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.
Best Practice in Publishing
News media
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…
INTERVIEW
Stand and deliver!
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.
INTERVIEW
Change before charge
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.
INTERVIEW
Ditching the generic
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.
INTERVIEW
The Observer’s premium future
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.
FEATURE
Opportunities & Threats: National News Media
What’s the outlook for national news media in 2024? Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent, looks ahead.
FEATURE
Breathing new life into local media
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.
OPINION
We Need Trusted News Brands Now More Than Ever
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.
OUT & ABOUT WITH ALAN GEERE
Weekly does it
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.
All Articles
News
Cogapp visualises election data for new ST website
Cogapp, the digital media and user-experience company, has built a core part of the politics channel of the new Sunday Times website, which went live on Tuesday, May 25.
News
David Owen is new MD of Distripress
Distripress, the Association for the Promotion of the International Circulation of the Press, has announced the appointment of David Owen as new Managing Director.
News
NewspaperDirect Appoints VP of Publishing and Legal Affairs
NewspaperDirect, a world leader in multichannel newspaper and magazine content distribution and monetization, has appointed Nikolay Malyarov to vice president, publishing and legal affairs.
News
Future’s CVG powers MSN UK’s gaming news
Future has been appointed gaming news provider for the popular ‘Tech & Gadgets’ section of Microsoft’s MSN UK portal.
News
Jewish Chronicle launches JC North
This week, the Jewish Chronicle (JC) launches JC North, a “vibrant, local and superbly written edition”, designed specifically for the Jewish communities in Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.
News
ENDS Report launches new channels and website
The ENDS Report website has been relaunched, along with a new specialist channel for carbon and energy managers plus other professionals affected by the government’s CRC energy efficiency scheme.
FEATURE
Tomorrow’s Humanities
This is the text of a speech given James Murdoch at the Launch of the UCL Centre for Digital Humanities, University College London on 20th May, 2010.
News
Trusted Reviews’ Hitwise hat-trick
During 2009, Trusted Reviews – IPC Inspire’s online source of consumer and information technology news and reviews – ranked number one based on market share of visits among all United Kingdom websites in the Hitwise Computers and Internet - Electroni
News
Recession! What recession?
Families in the UK who have primary school age children appear not to have noticed that we are experiencing the worst economic downturn in over 50 years, according to a recent survey.
News
An Archant legend retires
Read all about it! After nearly half a century of unstinting dedication, a newspaper legend, and Archant’s longest-serving employee, yesterday bid a final farewell to Archant Suffolk.
News
E-mag brings driving to life
Staff at Archant London have come up with a “pioneering” new concept called iDrive24 which, they say, is unlike any other local motoring publication on offer.
News
John Brown launches microsites for Waitrose Wine
John Brown has been appointed by Waitrose Wine Direct to launch a series of microsites promoting specific areas of their range.
News
Guardian appoints Simon Fox
Guardian Media Group (GMG) has appointed Simon Fox, chief executive officer of HMV Group plc, as a non-executive director.
News
Departure of Rafat Ali from ContentNext
Guardian News & Media and ContentNext have announced that Founder and Editor Rafat Ali will be leaving the company at the beginning of July.
