2. Who's Reading What?
Readership of Regional and Community Newspapers
The total readership of regional dailies dropped by four per cent between 2006 and 2008. However, the readership of individual mastheads varies to some extent from the total. The Illawarra Mercury, for example, has suffered dramatic declines every year since 2005, whereas The Geelong Advertiser, after having lost readers in 2006, increased its readership in both 2007 and 2008.
The reasons for the decline in regional readership may be due to demographic factors, such as population movements. However, the same factors which influence readership of metropolitan dailies, such as the shift of classified advertising to the Web, are undoubtedly having an impact on regional newspapers.
Table 2.10 Readership of largest regional dailies
| Title | June 2008 | June 2007 | June 2006 | June 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 1,649,000 | 1,640,000 | 1,725,000 | 1,727,000 |
| Newcastle Herald (M-F) | 137,000 | 143,000 | 136,000 | 148,000 |
| Newcastle Herald (Sat) | 200,000 | 213,000 | 212,000 | 219,000 |
| Illawarra Mercury (M-F) | 73,000 | 83,000 | 95,000 | 90,000 |
| Illawarra Mercury (Sat) | 99,000 | 101,000 | 125,000 | 112,000 |
| Geelong Advertiser (M-F) | 81,000 | 77,000 | 74,000 | 91,000 |
| Geelong Advertiser (Sat) | 126,000 | 117,000 | 112,000 | 132,000 |
| Cairns Post (M-F) | 86,000 | 75,000 | 87,000 | 81,000 |
| Cairns Post (Sat) | 109,000 | 107,000 | 109,000 | 107,000 |
| Gold Coast Bulletin (M-F) | 105,000 | 96,000 | 103,000 | 94,000 |
| Gold Coast Bulletin (Sat) | 149,000 | 154,000 | 172,000 | 167,000 |
| Townsville Bulletin M-F) | 77,000 | 77,000 | 84,000 | 73,000 |
| Townsville Bulletin (Sat) | 101,000 | 98,000 | 104,000 | 102,000 |
| Launceston Examiner (M-F) | 86,000 | 82,000 | 85,000 | 82,000 |
| Launceston Examiner (Sat) | 99,000 | 96,000 | 99,000 | 97,000 |
| Burnie Advocate (M-F) | 57,000 | 60,000 | 61,000 | 62,000 |
| Burnie Advocate (Sat) | 64,000 | 61,000 | 67,000 | 70,000 |
Source: Roy Morgan Research
Analysis of circulation for community newspapers is of limited usefulness, since most community newspapers are distributed free of charge to households in the target area. As such, circulation is an indicator of the number of individual dwellings in a particular area rather than any interest in the publication. Readership gives a more reliable indicator of audience for local or suburban papers. The pattern that is demonstrated in those newspapers published by the Leader group suggests that readership has declined by approximately 1.3 per cent over the last three years, after several years of growth.
Table 2.11 Audience trends in the suburban Leader newspaper group 2001-2008
| Year | Circulation (m.) | Readership (m.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1.313 | 1.688 | ||||
| 2002 | 1.328 | 1.762 | ||||
| 2003 | 1.349 | 1.793 | ||||
| 2004 | 1.381 | 1.838 | ||||
| 2005 | 1.403 | 1.889 | ||||
| 2008 | 1.595 | 1.865 |
Source: The Leader Group