Newspapers continue slump in latest audited circulation figures
The second half of 2018 continued print media’s woes with major mastheads still seeing circulation falls, the Audited Media Association of Australia has reported.
In its December 2018 audit of circulation figures, the AMAA reported most major publications fell around 10% for the 2018 calendar year, continuing the trend seen earlier in the year.
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ABC weekday newspaper circulation July-Dec 2018
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| Last Period | Change PoP | Same Period Last Year | Change YOY | |
| WEST AUSTRALIAN (M-F) | 128,365 | 0.30% | 152,353 | -15.50% |
| SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (M-F) | 78,798 | -5.60% | 83,117 | -10.60% |
| AGE (M-F) | 74,360 | -6.00% | 77,821 | -10.20% |
| CANBERRA TIMES (M-F) | 13,808 | -5.60% | 14,305 | -8.90% |
| AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW | 39,834 | -4.60% | 41,967 | -9.40% |
Of the Monday to Friday titles, The Sydney Morning Herald fell 10.6% for the year, to 78,987 while The Age slumped 10.2% to 74,360.
The Australian Financial Review wasn’t spared from falls with a 9.4% drop to 39,834 while The Canberra Times saw an 8.9% slump to 13,808.
In Perth, the West Australian recorded 128,365, a drop of 15.5% for a year, but a slight improvement of 0.3% for the half year.
News Corp’s mastheads are no longer included in the audit after the company The data comes nine months after the company decided to withdraw from the scheme last year.
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ABC
Saturday newspaper circulation July-Dec 2018
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| Last Period | Change PoP | Same Period Last Year | Change YOY | |
| WEST AUSTRALIAN (Sat) | 207004 | 2.40% | 237049 | -10.50% |
| SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Sat) | 152434 | -4.70% | 159539 | -9.00% |
| AGE (Sat) | 130951 | -5.00% | 136078 | -8.60% |
| CANBERRA TIMES (Sat) | 20881 | -7.70% | 21593 | -10.80% |
| AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW – WEEKEND ED. | 46716 | -7.10% | 47394 | -8.50% |
Of the weekend papers, Saturday was a particularly cruel day with the Canberra Times slumping 10.8% to 20,881, the West Australian down 10.5% to 207,000 and the AFR falling 8.5% to 46,716.
The Age saw an 8.6% decline to 130,951 while Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald fell 9% to 152,434.
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ABC Sunday newspaper circulation July-Dec 2018
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| Last Period | Change PoP | Same Period Last Year | Change YOY | |
| SUNDAY TIMES (WA) | 168,432 | 2.80% | 194,033 | -10.80% |
| SUN-HERALD | 144,123 | -6.30% | 153,043 | -11.70% |
| SUNDAY AGE | 103,441 | -5.10% | 108,138 | -9.20% |
| CANBERRA TIMES (Sun) | 14,126 | -8.10% | 14,575 | -10.90% |
Among the Sunday papers, Melbourne’s Sunday Age recorded 103,441, down 5.1% on the previous year while the Sydney Sun-Herald slumped 6.3% to 144,123.
The Canberra Times slumps 10.9% to 14,126 while West Australia’s Sunday Time fell 10.8% to 168,432, again however the Perth-based masthead recovered slightly from its shocking first half of 2018 with a 2.8% rise over six months.
