Top players are fighting an uphill battle
Data on national newspapers in the UK revealed that a number of publications saw a year-over-year drop in circulation of over 20 percent between 2021 and 2022. Similarly, figures for regional papers, Aberdeen – Press & Journal stands out as the top daily title, followed by the Irish News. Both newspapers have seen circulation numbers shrink in recent years, a downward trend that is also mirrored in the revenues of major news publication companies such as Reach Plc and Daily Mail and General Trust Plc (DMGT). Consumers spend less money on print newspapers than ever, and even though interest in current affairs remains high, the ways in which such content is accessed have fundamentally changed. Not only that, but other winds of change are also gathering speed behind the scenes. Over the past 10 years, the number of journalists and newspaper editors employed in the UK has almost doubled. Data on the diversity of the UK news industry also suggested that the number of female employees and the share of young journalists is increasing steadily.The digital wave is leaving an imprint on UK news media
The UK’s news industry has been heavily impacted by the advances of social media and consumers’ growing demand for online content. Staying up to date with the latest developments from around the world is now easier than ever, and thanks to 24-hour news cycles and instant pop-up notifications, print newspapers are losing their appeal more rapidly each year. While some smaller publications have yet to embrace the digital future, others have already started offering their content via web editions to maintain relevance and combat subscriber loss. The UK’s leading English-language news websites tend to draw in between 10 and 40 million visitors per month. This shift towards online news reporting has not gone unnoticed by advertisers either. While total news brand advertising spending in the UK has declined for years, investments in digital news outlets continue to flourish.
