Total News Publishing now reaches 22 million Australians each month and 18.4 million weekly, surpassing the consumption of daily essentials like vegetables and milk, according to the latest data from Roy Morgan.

The data reveals that 93 per cent of news consumers access up to five different news brands monthly, suggesting a strong demand for diverse viewpoints. Additionally, 50 per cent of news consumers engage with four or more content categories each month, indicating varied interests among readers.

The Total News Publishing data is based on monthly readership averaged over the 12 months to December 2024, as measured by Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia's largest consumer survey. The audience measurement is independently audited by Milton Data, ensuring the reliability of the figures.

High-end auto intenders and travel enthusiasts reportedly trust news publishing brands more than any other information source. This trust is reflected in the readership data, with General News being the most read category, engaging 93 per cent of the population. Other popular categories include Property (65 per cent), Sport (54 per cent), Lifestyle & Health (50 per cent), Entertainment & Culture (48 per cent), Business & Finance (44 per cent), Auto (33 per cent), Travel (29 per cent), and Technology (21 per cent).

News media marketing body, ThinkNewsBrands, says the data positions news readers represent a high-value audience with a strong propensity for making purchasing decisions - which the organisation argues makes them an attractive target for advertisers.

ThinkNewsBrands CEO, Vanessa Lyons, said: "It's incredible to see how much news has become a part of everyday life for so many Australians. With 22 million people tuning in each month, it's clear that news brands are doing something right in keeping people informed and engaged. For advertisers, this is a golden chance to tap into a wide audience and make meaningful connections."

Looking at monthly average audience numbers across cross-platform news sites, News Corp's news.com.au was ranked number one nationally with an average monthly audience of 10.801 million - though that was a 9.3 per cent fall year on year. Nine Entertainment's nine.com.au ranked second with 9.019 million monthly average readers - down 7.8 per cent YoY - and ABC News sat in third position with 8.117 million, down by 4.7 per cent YoY.

Nine's Sydney Morning Herald was the most read cross-platform masthead with 6.857 million readers, with sister publication The Age coming in second place with 4.56 million. Both publications were ahead of their respective News Corp-owned competitors in the NSW and Victorian markets, with the SMH beating out The Daily Telegraph's readership of 3.978 million and The Age ahead of The Herald Sun's 4.233 - despite the latter's 5.8 per cent uplift.

Executive editor Luke McIlveen said: "The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are the nation's most-read mastheads because we have the best reporters and writers in the business. With a fiercely contested federal election on the horizon, our millions of readers know they can depend on our newsrooms to deliver the most accurate, insightful, up to date and balanced news across all platforms."

“That our audience remains so strong is a testament to the excellent work of our reporting teams, who continue to break news that leads the national agenda and tell exclusive Victorian stories worth paying for,” said The Age editor Patrick Elligett.

In total Nine claimed a deduplicated Total Publishing audience of 15.877 million Australians across print and digital.