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.
Independent News & Media PLC has announced that Vincent Crowley (55) has been appointed Group Chief Operating Officer of INM with immediate effect, filling the vacancy created when Gavin O’Reilly became Group Chief Executive in May 2009.
For the first time, Telegraph Media Group (TMG) will use a television commercial to promote its recently re-launched international edition, The Telegraph - the weekly world edition of Britain’s The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.
The independent review group looking into the PCC's governance arrangements has issued a call for evidence.
The Simpsons Comics teamed up with the Mirror Group to give newspaper readers a free Simpsons comic this weekend.
Digital Technology International has announced that it has signed a multi-million dollar agreement with Cox Media Group (a division of Cox Enterprises) to install DTI Circulation, its suite of circulation, distribution, marketing, and reporting softw
Yesterday marked the launch of the Birmingham Post's new weekly edition.
The National Federation of Retail Newsagents has released the following statement in reaction to News International’s announcement:
Johnston Press published its Interim Management Statement on the 11th November, which was drawn up for the 44 weeks to 31 October 2009.
News Corporation’s The Australian has become the latest title to sign up to print at Océ’s Digital Newspaper Network production site at Stroma in London.
Guardian Media Group has announced the appointment of Neil Berkett to the Board as a non-executive director.
Amazon.com has announced the availability of Kindle for PC, the free application that lets readers around the world enjoy Kindle books on their personal computers (PC).
The Association of Online Publishers (AOP) announces the appointment of Mary Beth (MB) Christie, Head of Product Management for FT.com as the Committee Chair of its newly formed Product Development Committee.
Allegations of widespread phone tapping at the News of the World have been dismissed by the press watchdog. Below is a transcript of an interview Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger gave to Channel 4 News yesterday.
Titan Publishing is proud to present inventors extraordinaire and Oscar winners, Wallace & Gromit, as you’ve never seen them before – in comics on your iPhone!
Trinity Mirror is entering a two month consultation period with employees over its proposal to close the Group's defined benefit pension schemes to future accrual.
