Latest monthly newspaper readership figures show digital going strong as print readership dives compared to the same period last year. The Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (emma) data between May 2014 to April 2015 says newspaper media reached 94 per cent of all Australians, or 16.5 million people, with printed newspapers still commanding the largest share.
Newspapers readership keeps falling
The results come as News Corp axes its struggling free train tabloid newspaper mX, as commuters increasingly use their mobile phones on public transport instead. The report shows national and metro printed newspaper’s reached 12.4 million people over a four week period, while community newspapers are firm favourites with an audience of 7.9 million, or 44 per cent of the population. Last year over the same period, Fairfax’s Sydney Morning Herald scored 5.4 million readers, whereas this year the numbers were down to 5.1 million. However the numbers were positive for News Corp’s Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph, which had 4.2 million people reading its articles last year, and over the same period this year it increased to 4.3 million. Mark Hollands, The Newspaper Works CEO, says printed newspaper media reaches seven in 10 people, or 3.4 million, aged under 30, with digital closing the gap at 65 per cent of young people, or 3.2 million. Hollands says, “While older demographics still prefer print, digital has a strong footprint among those aged 70+ at 990,000, or 47 per cent of this demographic. “The emma data clearly shows that newspaper media continues to reach nine in 10 Australians, who still consume the majority of their news and information from printed newspapers. “The ability of newspaper media to inform and influence their audience is unrivalled and this is true for cities, regional and rural communities.”
The data says digital newspaper media readership continues to grow, with PC and laptop readership still leading with an audience of 10.6 million, or 59 per cent of the population. It was followed by mobile at 3 million, or 17 per cent of people, and tablet at 2.7 million or 15 per cent of people. This comes as News Corp axes its struggling free train tabloid newspaper mX, which has a circulation of 192,000 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Tomorrow will be the last day the newspaper will be handed out to commuters at train stations during the evening rush hour. “The decision is a reflection of the changing reading habits of commuters who now turn to their mobile phones and tablets on their way to and from work,” News Corp says in a statement. “News will continue to invest in our extensive suite of print and digital products, which are purchased and read by millions of Australians every day.” News Corp CEO Julian Clarke emailed the staff saying it is disappointing to see a publication close but after thorough view of mX’s commercial prospects it was clear this is the right decision. Clarke says, “mX has since its inception in Melbourne in 2001 served a young commuter audience well with its fresh and innovative style. Nevertheless that audience’s swift shift to mobile information and entertainment has made this decision inevitable.”
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