Reach plc has further extended its paywalls, with three more regional news sites now only fully accessible to subscribers. The latest newspapers, Wales Online, Leicestershire Live and the Daily Record have followed in the footsteps of the Liverpool Echo and Manchester Echo which were both paywalled in late 2025.
What is Paywalling?
Paywalling is an increasingly common practice in online news, whereby readers must pay a subscription to access full articles. In the case of Reach plc, subscription costs are set at £4.99 a month, or £39.99 for the whole year. However, Reach news sites do allow users who have not subscribed to read a small number of articles before they are paywalled. Frustrating as it seems, it allows users to read news seamlessly, without intrusive ads.
As anyone doing a journalism degree like //schoolofjournalism.co.uk/ will know, news is also under attack from fake reports. By charging readers for access, news outlets claim they are able to produce a higher quality of accurate, reliable news.
What is next for Reach PLC?
With five of its newspapers now offering a subscription for full news access, the company is expected to do the same with the Newcastle Chronicle Live and even its national title, The Express.
The vast majority of regional and local online news outlets are now offering a subscription for access to online news. Set at a cost that works out lower than the price of buying a physical newspaper each day, it’s hoped that the income will keep local news outlets in business and prevent the advent of fake news.
