More than half of newspaper readers, some 58 per cent, now go to digital sources for their news, according to the industry’s Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (Emma) survey. Mark Holland, CEO of The Newspaper Works, says consumption is increasing across all platforms, but digital continues to pull away from the paper crowd, up 17 per cent in the past year and hitting 66 per cent for readers aged 25-54. He says, “The digital trend is not new and becoming more pronounced.” However, Holland says he is not dismissing print, with figures showing a ‘stable result’ for printed newspapers, as readers choose to get their news on multiple platforms depending on the time of day.
Australians look to multiple news platforms
While 2.9 million Australians read newspaper content on smartphones and tablets – not including online access from your desktop computer – some 12.8 million of us read printed newspapers every week. Holland says digital is not cannabalising print, and “We are not seeing a swing in the other direction against print readership. Australians are indulging in their passion to keep up to date and newspapers remain a critical part of that contribution.” The data did show that the print trend for Australia’s top 13 national and metropolitan newspapers was down by two per cent. This is against a wider backdrop of overall print readership; with the 12.8 million, or 72 per cent, of Australians reading a printed newspaper in the last four weeks, according to Emma. The survey says the country’s appetite for news is only growing; with the number of Australians who consume both print and digital news increasing by seven per cent compared with the corresponding period last year. Holland says, “News journalism continues to be an important facet of our society – the appetite for quality news journalism is only increasing. The major newspaper publishers are continuing to grow their audiences.”
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