97% of Australians continue to read news: survey

News is holding strong with 20.4 million Australians consuming news – consisting of all news brands (print and digital) and digital news websites – in a four-week period, an increase of 1% compared to the same period last year, according to a Total News readership survey.

Why it matters

With the vast majority of Australians seeking timely news amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it 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.

Six insights

• News reaches 97% of the Australian population aged 14+, according to the first release of Total News readership figures.
• Digital news maintains its position of strength with readership of 19.1 million, or 90% of the population aged 14+.
• Print news rose 6% compared to the same period last year, reaching 14.1 million or 67% of the population aged 14+.
• The Sydney Morning Herald was the top news brand (print and digital) in the last four weeks with 8.4 million.
• The Age was second with 6.0 million, The Australian third with 5.2 million and The Daily Telegraph fourth at 4.9 million.
• Also in the Top 10 were The Herald Sun, The West Australian & Sunday Times, and The Australian Financial Review.

Quote

“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” – Vanessa Lyons, General Manager, ThinkNewsBrands.

Background

Roy Morgan Research surveyed all people 14+, with all audience data based on the last four weeks averaged over the 12 months to June 2021.

Sourced from Roy Morgan