As part of NI’s plans to tell the world how it is at the forefront of the revolution that is transforming the newspaper industry, leading media correspondents were invited to an informal reception at the group’s London headquarters.

The event was hosted by NI CEO Mike Darcey, who outlined his views for how the industry can adapt and prosper in a market that is continually evolving.  Mike reiterated NI’s commitment to the ‘pay model’ for the news business and his assertion that NI produces news and analysis that is worth paying for.

Mike also confirmed that this approach means that The Sun will in due course charge for its online content.  No dates or other details were revealed at this stage but he indicated that further developments could be expected in the second half of 2013.  He described the current situation - in which we ask 2.3m people to pay for The Sun newspaper each day while others get all of The Sun's content online for free - as 'untenable’.

Mike spoke of NI being ‘a very different company’ from the one which filled the headlines nearly two years ago for all the wrong reasons, covering the measures that have been introduced to enable the company to focus on the future.

In an industry that is facing a number of pressures, he outlined the fact that more than 20 million people in the UK read a national newspaper every week - and news is not going out of fashion anytime soon.

Drawing upon his previous experience at Sky, there are also lessons we can learn from pay-TV and other media, offering paid-for quality content against the backdrop of a free proposition.  The paid-for TV journey started out in an environment where the concept of paying extra for TV was considered almost ludicrous, and is now a multi-billion pound industry.

NI has invested a great deal in our journalism and will continue to do so in order to breathe new life into the industry and create an environment where our titles can thrive.