Australia's newspapers: from Sydney to Perth, the press online

The Australian press is built around The Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review, almost entirely in English, alongside ABC News and SBS; most can be read online, often behind a digital subscription.

From the 1803 Sydney Gazette to today's media groups

Printed from 1803 under control of the Governor of New South Wales, the Sydney Gazette opened the history of the Australian press. The Sydney Morning Herald has appeared since 1831, The Age in Melbourne since 1854, and each state capital later built its own daily.

News Corp and Nine, the two poles of the market

News Corp Australia publishes The Australian, the national daily launched by Rupert Murdoch in 1964, as well as Sydney's Daily Telegraph and Melbourne's Herald Sun, both popular and conservative in tone. Since 2018 Nine has owned the Herald, The Age and the AFR.

Which paper to read in each state capital?

In Brisbane the Courier-Mail dominates, challenged online by the Brisbane Times. Adelaide reads The Advertiser, Hobart The Mercury and Darwin the NT News. In Perth, The West Australian belongs to Seven West Media, while Canberra keeps The Canberra Times.

An English-language press open to other languages

English is almost the only language of the dailies, but SBS broadcasts radio and podcasts in dozens of languages, from Mandarin to Arabic. Indigenous media, such as the NITV channel or the Koori Mail of Lismore, give a voice to Aboriginal peoples.

Guardian Australia, Crikey and The Conversation

The Australian edition of the Guardian, opened in Sydney in 2013, has established itself as a free-to-read outlet funded by reader contributions. Crikey offers political analysis and newsletters, and The Conversation, founded in Melbourne in 2011, publishes articles written by academics.

AAP, the agency that feeds the newsrooms

Australian Associated Press, founded in 1935 by newspaper publishers, distributes wire copy, photos and fact checks. After its closure was announced in 2020, it was taken over under a not-for-profit structure and still covers courts, parliaments and sport across the country.

ABC and SBS, the public broadcasters

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, created in 1932, brings together national radio, ABC TV and the free, widely read ABC News site. SBS, born in the late 1970s for migrant communities, completes the public offer, facing the commercial networks Seven, Nine and Ten.

Reading in French in Sydney and the Pacific

Le Courrier Australien, a French-language title born in Sydney in the late nineteenth century, serves expatriates and francophiles. Readers can also follow the press of Oceania and the Pacific or the New Caledonian press from Noumea, Australia's close neighbour.

Business, markets and Australian sport

The Australian Financial Review covers the ASX in Sydney, mining and the Reserve Bank of Australia. On the sports side, the Herald Sun closely follows AFL Australian football, the Daily Telegraph the NRL, and the Melbourne Open mobilises newsrooms every January.

Press Council, the 2019 raids and source protection

The Australian Press Council, a self-regulatory body set up in 1976, reviews complaints against the print press. In June 2019, police raids targeting the ABC and a News Corp journalist reignited the debate on whistleblowers and the protection of journalists' sources.

Digital platforms and the News Media Bargaining Code

Adopted in 2021, the News Media Bargaining Code requires the large platforms to negotiate payment with publishers. Facebook briefly blocked Australian news links at the time. The sites of News Corp and Nine remain largely reserved for digital subscribers.

Cross-checking Australian sources from abroad

Comparing a Sydney Morning Herald article with one in The Australian often reveals two readings of the same Canberra debate. The New Zealand press and British outlets, such as those in the United Kingdom press, offer a useful outside view.

Following Australian news from Europe

1. Pick a reference daily, for example The Age or the Sydney Morning Herald, then add The Australian for a different editorial line.
2. Install the free ABC News app and turn on alerts for federal government decisions and natural disasters.
3. Subscribe to the morning newsletters of Guardian Australia or Crikey, which sum up the news from Canberra in a few minutes.
4. Listen to ABC Radio National or SBS podcasts online, allowing for the time difference with the east coast.
5. For the economy, read the Australian Financial Review and the statements of the Reserve Bank of Australia when it decides on rates.
6. Check the date and the state concerned: news from Queensland does not necessarily apply to New South Wales or Victoria.

Access and subscriptions for Australian media

Practical pointers on Australian media

• Language: Australian English, with multilingual programmes on SBS
• News agency: Australian Associated Press (AAP)
• Public service: ABC (radio, television, ABC News) and SBS
• National daily: The Australian; business: Australian Financial Review
• Sport: Herald Sun for the AFL, Daily Telegraph for the NRL
• Time zones: from UTC+8 in Perth to UTC+10 in Sydney, with daylight saving in several states
• Subscription currency: Australian dollar (AUD)

Traps to avoid when reading the Australian press

• Confusing Sydney's Daily Telegraph with its London namesake: the two titles have no editorial link and follow different lines.
• Taking seriously articles from The Shovel or other Australian satirical sites, often shared out of context on social media.
• Forgetting that bushfire or flood announcements change from hour to hour: only the authorities of the state concerned issue official instructions.
• Using paywall-bypass sites that copy articles from Nine or News Corp, at the risk of reading truncated or altered versions.
• Sharing an old article about the 2019-2020 bushfires as if it described the current season.

Your questions about Australian newspapers