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.
Much of publishers’ initial interest in AI was text-based, but AI’s potential to make a huge impact on image creation and editing soon became apparent. Derek Milne, commercial pixometrist at Pixometry, looks at what’s possible.
Newsquest has published over 10,000 articles with the aid of AI. Jody Doherty-Cove, head of editorial AI, tells us how and why Newsquest is deploying AI across its newsrooms.
Is one politician saying negative things about another politician headline news? It shouldn’t be.
At the recent Society of Editors conference, Ray Snoddy saw a slight thawing in police-media relations and progress towards more open justice.
For POLITICO, podcasts are not an adjunct but an integral part of its publishing strategy. As Anne McElvoy, head of podcasting and host of the Power Play show, tells Meg Carter, its podcasts open doors, create headlines and make waves.
In March, the team behind local news website Lichfield Live launched a print newspaper, the Lichfield and Burntwood Independent. Jon Griffin meets up with founder Ross Hawkes to find out why.
Entertainment and Lifestyle, despite the obvious cross-over, are often treated separately. PA Media has brought them together under Kerri-Ann Roper, who explains the thinking behind this and other recent enhancements to PA Media’s offering.
Under one roof at the Regional Press Awards were 250 of the great and the good, the has-beens (sorry, judges) and the will-bes. So, what better place to take the temperature of the industry? Alan Geere was there with his thermometer of news…
Inspired by ITV’s agenda-shifting drama, ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’, that was the theme for a London Press Club debate staged in the august and historic surrounds of Stationers’ Hall in March. Paul Connew picks out the main talking points.
On 4th March, A. G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times, delivered the 2024 Reuters Memorial Lecture. This is a transcript of his talk.
It might seem counterintuitive to print your magazines and newspaper supplements overseas, but Roeselare, home of Roularta Printing, is closer to London than Plymouth or Manchester.
Ad sales is one of publishers’ most important revenue streams, so the efficiency with which it is managed can have a material impact on profitability, PSC’s Laurence Cope tells James Evelegh.
With Generation Z navigating the online election coverage via social media, if at all, Dr Carolyn Jackson-Brown discusses the types of content they might find.
The Daily Mail has launched a new video offering, including a slate of premium content and original video franchises to roll out on YouTube and other major video platforms.
The Sheffield Star this week produced a special print edition to mark the fortieth anniversary of what it describes as the most violent conflict in British industrial history.
