Printed newspaper readership in Australia 2021

From March 2020 to March 2021, The Australian recorded an audience of just under 3.05 million for its printed edition. By comparison, the Herald Sun had approximately 2.57 million readers, whereas the Daily Telegraph had 2.49 million.

 Australian print mediascape 

Australia’s fluctuating newspaper market has continued to decelerate since 2015 hitting an all-time low value of 2.46 billion Australian dollars in 2020. Environmentalists argue that it’s an effective means to saving trees and many others tout print media as a dying industry. However, the country’s most popular national newspaper, The Australian, continues to cater to 5.2 million readers. Furthermore, the print magazine segment also saw an increase in subscriptions with a total of 13.6 million readers nationwide as of 2018.

 Consumer demographics 

In spite of the decline in print news media, the share of subscribers of printed newspapers in Australia aged under 35, rose from 27 percent in 2016 to 40 percent in 2018, equaling the share of subscribers older than 35 years. Moreover, the trust garnered by newspapers rose to 49 percent of consumers using newspapers as their main source having stated that they trusted the news in 2021.