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 World Association of Newspapers and IFRA, leading international associations for print and digital news publishing, have merged into a new organisation, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
In a report published this month, the Stationers, a City of London Livery Company, predict that by 2020 the demand for graphic papers will have declined to the level of the last decade of the 20th Century!
LexisNexis has announced an agreement with ISI Emerging Markets which sees the inclusion of extensive news coverage from Central and Eastern European, Middle Eastern and Northern African regions in the Nexis research services.
The first ever Kent Excellence in Business Awards (KEiBA) ceremony is a sell out with almost 500 tickets being snatched up by Kent’s business community.
News Corporation has announced the appointment of Rebekah Wade to the role of Chief Executive Officer of News International.
Visitors to the Historic Dockyard in Chatham this Saturday will have an exclusive chance to experience Kent’s War, a unique website created by the KM Group.
Nstein Technologies has announced that Newssift, a business insight tool launched by FT Search Inc has launched its beta powered by Nstein's TME (Text Mining Engine).
Interead has launched the COOL-ER, an ereader, and COOLERBOOKS.com, what it claims is the world’s largest online bookstore featuring more than 750,000 titles.
As part of a continuing mission to create new digital offerings and introduce customer-focused, market-driven capabilities across its worldwide product portfolio, Atex has announced the formation of a new Global Product Management and Marketing team.
ABCe has been appointed, by Central Office of Information (COI), as a sole third party to independently validate the figures generated by an audit of government websites.
Iliffe Print’s new £9.5m printing press was given a special seal of approval when His Royal Highness, Prince Edward, performed the opening ceremony.
KM Group is now promising more than before to readers and advertisers in Canterbury and its surrounding areas.
The Wall Street Journal has appointed Patience Wheatcroft as editor-in-chief, Europe, overseeing the Wall Street Journal Europe and taking the lead role in its editorial expansion across the continent, and in particular, the growth of digital content
NME has announced a partnership with independent retailer, Rough Trade, to give NME.COM users access to the most exciting, sought-after new music releases.
Sittingbournemessenger.co.uk has been created to serve residents of Sittingbourne and surrounding areas as a complement to the local paid-for newspaper edition of the same name.
