Publishers' Statement

CIRCULATION FIGURES FOR NEWSPAPERS AND THE INTERNET
FOR 6 MONTHS TO MARCH 2004

Publishers’ Quotes

Alan Revell
Commercial Director
Metropolitan Newspapers

The Sydney Morning Herald's weekday circulation declined marginally on weekdays, and fell on Saturdays. We believe this reflects the contrast with the higher circulations of a year ago in the leadup and commencement of the war in Iraq. The Sydney Morning Herald maintains its leadership position of the papers in their audience reach and quality audience delivered to advertisers.

The Sun-Herald continues its leadership in total quality audience on Sundays in the most competitive newspaper market in the country.


Michael Gawenda
Editor-in-Chief
The Age

The Age continues to perform strongly registering circulation gains on weekdays with a rate of growth greater than any other metropolitan newspaper in Australia.

This is the 11th consecutive reporting period that The Age Monday to Friday has recorded a figure either equal to, or greater than, the previous year.

The Saturday Age declined marginally which was in line with overall market conditions. The Saturday Age continues to provide advertisers with the largest quality audience.

Readers have responded positively to the improvements we have made to the paper on Sundays with The Sunday Age registering strong circulation growth.


Michael Gill
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Fairfax Business Media

The Australian Financial Review has experienced circulation gains year-on-year for both its Monday to Friday (0.6%) and Weekend (1.1%) editions. These gains are a reflection of strengthening activity in business investment and services sectors and the continuing strength and development of the editorial product.

The Financial Review has held its strong base of circulation despite what has been a sustained contraction in business investment and financial services activity. We anticipate steady growth in underlying business activity and will maintain our careful focus on the changing business information needs of Australian readers.


James Hooke
General Manager, Fairfax Regional and Community Newspapers

The Newcastle Herald continues its strong circulation gains, with a rise of over 25% over the past 6 years. The Herald is one of the fastest-growing papers in Australia.

The Illawarra Mercury was steady over the period, and is positioned for further growth during the year.

The Warrnambool Standard has extended its trend of steady circulation growth. The Standard's circulation has increased in each of the past seven quarters.


Nick Leeder
Chief Operating Officer
f2 Network

The f2 Network showed strong overall year-on-year growth, up 32% to nearly 5.9 million unique users per month. smh.com.au grew by over 40% and, with over 3.4 million unique visitors per month, is the most popular news site in Australia. theage.com.au enjoyed growth of 43%, and now has an audience of over 2.2 million per month.

Of the classified sites, domain.com.au increased its traffic by over 40%, with smaller audience gains for drive.com.au and mycareer.com.au.

Source: John Fairfax Holdings Limited
Release Date: 23 Apr 2004 00:00