Australia – (E1) Media ownership concentration national level

Newspaper circulation is published quarterly by the Audit Bureau of Circulation. For June 2009, the figures indicate the following market share distribution for daily (weekday) newspapers:

Table 9. Market share of Australian daily newspapers publishers, June 2009

Source: Isaacs 2010c, 6-7. Note: Figures include capital city and regional newspaper sales in each Australian state.

Table 10. Market share of Australian Sunday newspapers, June 2009

Source: Isaacs 2010c, 6-7. Note: Figures include capital city and regional newspaper sales in each Australian state.

These figures should be viewed in conjunction with the table ‘Circulation figures october – December 2009’ on page 57. The major papers published by New Ltd are nationally, The Australian (all editions), in NSW, the Daily Telegraph, in Victoria, Herald Sun, in Queensland, Courier Mail, in South Australia, the Advertiser, in Tasmania, Mercury, and in the Northern Territory, the Northern Territory News. Fairfax publishes nationally The Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age (Melbourne). It also publishes papers in major regional centres, such as the Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong), The Newcastle Herald (Newcastle), The Border Mail (Albury-Wodonga) and The Warrnambool Standard (Warrnambool). APN News & Media publishes in regional centres in northern NSW and throughout Queensland.

A comparison with the figures of 2006 (Jackson 2006) shows a decrease in News Ltd’s market share which, for almost two decades, was at 68 % of the daily newspaper market, whereas Fairfax, which publishes The Age in Melbourne and Sydney Morning Herald in Sydney, has increased its market share. All the same, these figures clearly indicate the high level of media ownership concentration in Australia, which can be similarly found in the broadcast sector.