More than 20 million Australians continue to read news

In the first release of Total News readership figures produced by Roy Morgan, news reaches 97 per cent of the Australian population aged 14+. 

The first release of Total News readership shows news is holding strong with 20.4 million Australians consuming news in a four-week period, an increase of 1 per cent compared to the same period last year.  

The readership figures, produced for the first time by Roy Morgan for ThinkNewsBrands, refer to the 12 months to June 2021 and show that Total News reaches 97 per cent of the population aged 14+. Total News consists of all news brands (print and digital) and digital news websites. 

Digital news maintains its position of strength with readership of 19.1 million, 90 per cent of the population aged 14+. 

Print news has seen a 6 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, now reaching 14.1 million people, 67 per cent of the population aged 14+. 

TOP 10 MOST READ NEWS BRANDS 
Top 10 news brands (print & digital) Last four weeksThe Sydney Morning Herald8.4 millionThe Age
6.0 millionThe Australian
5.2 million
The Daily Telegraph
4.9 million
The Herald Sun
4.7 million
The West Australian & Sunday Times
4.1 million
The Australian Financial Review
3.4 million
The Courier Mail
3.0 million
The Adelaide Advertiser
1.7 million
The Saturday Paper
0.8 million

ThinkNewsBrands General Manager Vanessa Lyons said: “With all of us feeling the impact of the ongoing Covid health crisis, trusted, timely news has never been more important. This is very clearly reflected in the first release of Total News readership figures which shows news maintaining robust audiences.” 
 
In April, ThinkNewsBrands announced the appointment of Roy Morgan to measure news readership and the retirement of emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia).  
 
Of this change, Lyons added: “The move to Total News, produced by Roy Morgan, brings clarity to the industry as all advertisers, agencies and publishers can now rely on one audience metric for news, enabling better campaign investment decisions through simplified media planning tools. Within the Roy Morgan ecosystem, news as a media channel is now more clearly presented and displayed similarly to other channels with this level of reach.” 
 
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said: "We’re pleased to be working with ThinkNewsBrands to measure and report Total News. Since our appointment, we have been busy behind the scenes creating simplicity for channel planners and clearly representing the reach and scale of news among all Australians. 

“This is a great step forward for the industry with news now displayed as a stand-alone media channel inside Asteroid, the most used planning software. This enables media planners to easily assess the reach of news relative to other channels.” 
 
Source: Roy Morgan Research, All People 14+. All audience data is based on the last 4 weeks averaged over the 12 months to June 2021. 

Media Enquiries Brooke Hemphill
bhemphill@premiumcontentalliance.com.au 
0419 351 445 

About ThinkNewsBrands Founded by Australian media owners who, collectively, have more than 100 years’ experience in producing news, ThinkNewsBrands shines a light on how and why professionally produced premium news content is the best partner for advertisers looking to grow their brands and businesses. 

Find out more: thinknewsbrands.com.au