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.
April 4th 2005 saw one of the key events in the newspaper calendar – the Newspaper Society’s annual circulation, editorial and promotions conference. One of the most interesting presentations was by Jim Chisholm, the World Association of Newspapers’
There is no point newspaper circulators wringing their hands over declining print audiences and rising online ones. Satisfying the information needs of today’s consumer is paramount, says the FT’s Martin Ashford, and offering platform choice is the k
Gone are the days when the number of hits was the be all and end all of web analytics. Publishers are now equally interested in who their visitors are, what they do on their site, how long they do it for, and how often they visit. Andrea Kirkby looks
Our news supply chain is the best in the world, but it is, according to News International’s Ian Jackson, under threat from a combination of vested interest and under investment. The status quo needs to be challenged and changed though not necessaril
Few regional publishers do planning well, although those that do tend to be more successful than those that don’t. Too often, planning is tokenist, done with little enthusiasm and is likely to produce a lack lustre document fit only to gather dust –
If the regional paid-for dailies are to reverse their long term sales declines then circulation management will need a new mandate. Expertise in logistics will need to be augmented with relationship management skills. Some in the industry are already
The wholesale sector, upon which publishers rely so heavily, has changed out of all recognition. Consolidation has meant that 87% of the market is now controlled by just three companies. David Owen questions whether this is good for publishers and su
Everyone’s talking about ebooks. Most believe they’re here to stay but many in publishing are still uncertain about the precise business model. VNU’s Mark Judd outlines some of the commercial opportunities.
Children are cheap but unreliable; adults are reliable but expensive. Your free newspaper requires efficient distribution but margins are tight. TSCL’s Colin Peter maintains that, if managed properly, using kids can be both cost effective and efficie
The Manchester Evening News (like many other regional dailies) has experienced steadily declining circulations over the past six years. Yet deputy managing director Mark Rix is upbeat about the future. He is one of a growing number of regional publis
Karlene Lukovitz reviews the recent Digital Magazine Forum held in New York.
Margaret Snowdon looks at the key factors which are driving circulation. She highlights two evening titles achieving encouraging newspaper sales performances because they know exactly who their readers are, and could be, and provide them with what th
At a time when big retailers are embracing home grocery delivery, why is home news delivery in such a mess? Is it a coincidence that the fall in newspaper circulations has coincided with the decline of HND. Daily Mail circulation director Neil Jagger
More and more companies are discovering that the web can have a significant impact on the way they and their competitors do business. Simon Elgar, group marketing director of Reed Business Information, examines what this means for magazine publishers
In today’s multi-media world, where our readers receive content across an ever growing number of platforms, are we measuring the right things? Russell Borthwick urges the regional newspaper sector to invest more time and resource into the quest for a
