News Publishing reaches 21.8 million Australians with engagement across multiple brands
The latest Roy Morgan data shows:
- Total News Publishing readership reaches 21.8 million Australians aged 14+ monthly and 18.4 million weekly.
- Nine in ten news consumers accessing up to five different news brands each month, and half (51%) explore four or more content categories each month.
- High-end auto intenders and travel enthusiasts trust news publishing brands more than any other source.
News readership reaches new heights.
Readership figures from Roy Morgan show news publishing now reaches 21.8 million Australians aged 14+ each month and 18.4 million every week, with strong readership across every profile group. Put into perspective, more Aussies read news weekly than those who eat vegetables or drink milk, highlighting how entrenched news is in Australians’ lives. These audience figures demonstrate that advertisers can target practically any audience group through Total News Publishing.
Australians are going deep and broad, engaged by multiple news publishing brands and categories. The Roy Morgan data underscores the depth and diversity of Australians’ engagement with news. 93% read up to five news brands every month, showcasing their appetite for a range of perspectives. While General News leads as the most read category at 93% of the population, there is high readership across other categories too. In fact, 63% engage with at least three categories in any given month and 51% engage with four or more. These figures shine a light on the variety of news publishing content and the passions of highly engaged and attentive audiences that advertisers can tap into.
News readers are high-value, purchase-ready audiences for advertisers.
Audience profiles show news readers are 1.4 times more likely to be early adopters in categories like sporting equipment, apparel, appliances, weight management and accommodation, making news publishing advertising ideal for product launches. Australians shopping for their next premium car trust news publishing environments more than any other major media and are 1.3 times more likely to rely on news publishing to guide their purchase decision. For travel enthusiasts, news publishing is the most trusted information source, engaging them across travel and other interest categories. This data highlights news publishing as a powerful channel for reaching engaged, purchase-ready consumers.
Quotes, attributable to ThinkNewsBrands CEO, Vanessa Lyons:
“This quarter’s readership update confirms that Total News Publishing is a reliable way for advertisers to reach virtually any audience – almost everyone is reading it.”
“Audiences aren’t just browsing or scrolling; they’re deeply engaged with multiple news brands and categories, giving advertisers direct access to their interests and passions.”
“With ROI more critical than ever, news publishing delivers high-value, ready-to-buy audiences, including early adopters crucial for campaign success.”
Source: Total News Publishing as measured by Roy Morgan Single Source, which is Australia’s largest consumer survey representative of Australians aged 14+. All audience data is based on monthly readership averaged over the 12 months to September 2024, unless otherwise stated. Total News Publishing is defined as Australians aged 14+ reading news in print and/or news in digital formats, including websites, apps as well as Apple and Google News. Total News Publishing audience measurement is independently audited by Milton Data.
About ThinkNewsBrands
ThinkNewsBrands, the industry body for news media, is responsible for ensuring accurate and representative measurement of news audiences across both print and digital written news mediums. The organisation’s shareholders are Nine, News Corp Australia and Seven West Media’s West Australian newspapers.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
