The Sunday Times (Western Australia) facts for kids
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| Type | Sunday newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Western Press (Seven West Media) |
| Founder(s) | Frederick Vosper and Edward Ellis |
| Founded | December 19, 1897 |
| Headquarters | 50 Hasler Road, Osborne Park, Western Australia |
| City | Perth, WA |
| Country | Australia |
| Circulation | 168,432 (as of July-Dec 2018) |
| Readership | 394,000 |
| Sister newspapers | The West Australian |
| ISSN | 1442-9527 |
| OCLC number | 427972890 |
The Sunday Times is a newspaper published every Sunday. It is printed in a smaller size, known as a tabloid format. The newspaper is owned by Western Press Pty Ltd, which is part of Seven West Media. It is published in Perth and delivered all over Western Australia.
The newspaper first started as The West Australian Sunday Times. It changed its name to The Sunday Times on March 30, 1902. For many years, from 1955, it was owned by Rupert Murdoch's company, News Corp Australia. In 2016, The Sunday Times and its website, PerthNow, were sold to Seven West Media.
Contents
History of The Sunday Times Newspaper
The Sunday Times was started in 1897 by Frederick Vosper and Edward Ellis. Vosper used the newspaper to share his strong opinions about big projects in Perth. These projects included the Fremantle Harbour, the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, and the city's sewer system. He wrote about these from 1898 until C. Y. O'Connor, the engineer in charge, passed away in 1902. Later, a government review found that Vosper's criticisms of O'Connor's work were not fair.
Early Owners and Changes
After Vosper's death, James MacCallum Smith and Arthur Reid bought the newspaper in 1901. In 1912, MacCallum Smith became the only owner and manager. He stayed in this role until 1935. He was also a member of the Western Australian government for 20 years. Around 1920, A. T. Chandler became the editor. He helped promote MacCallum Smith's ideas about Western Australia leaving the rest of Australia.
In 1935, a group of people led by Jack Simons bought the company that published the newspaper, Western Press Limited. This group included Victor Courtney and mining businessman Claude de Bernales. Simons was the chairman and manager until he passed away in 1949. Then, Courtney took over. In 1955, Courtney sold Western Press to Rupert Murdoch's company, News Limited.
Recent Sale and Partnerships
In 2016, The Sunday Times was sold to Kerry Stokes's company, Seven West Media. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which checks if sales are fair, did not stop this sale. The sale included agreements for the companies to work together. This meant they would share news content. News Corp would also handle advertising sales for The Sunday Times and PerthNow in Australia's eastern states.
The two companies were already partners in Western Australia's Community Newspaper Group. As part of the sale, Seven West Media's West Australian Newspapers would print and deliver 17 local papers. They would also handle the delivery of The Australian newspaper in Western Australia.
Newspaper Style and Reach
To deal with fewer people buying newspapers and more people getting news from radio, TV, and the internet, The Sunday Times has changed its style. It has also updated how it presents information. Because it is delivered all over the state and has a lot of advertising, it is one of the most profitable newspapers in Australia.
The newspaper's official number of copies sold was 282,585 in 2011. This number dropped to 257,330 in March 2013, and then to 184,012 in March 2016.
In June 2006, The Sunday Times started its online news website, PerthNow. In March 2016, PerthNow.com.au was ranked as the 233rd most visited website in Australia. Another website, SimilarWeb, said it was the 32nd most visited news website in Australia.
Editors of The Sunday Times
Many people have been editors of The Sunday Times. Don Smith was editor from 1987, followed by Brian Crisp in 1999. Brett McCarthy took over in 2001, and Sam Weir in June 2007. Christopher Dore became editor in April 2012, and Rod Savage in June 2013. In November 2016, Michael Beach, a journalist who won a Walkley Award, became the senior editor. In April 2020, the role of editor was removed.
No Sunday Newspaper Competition
Western Australia has a smaller population. Because of this, there has not been another Sunday newspaper competing with The Sunday Times for a long time. The last competing paper, The Independent, was bought by News Limited in 1984 and stopped publishing in May 1986.
Before 1990, Perth had different newspapers on Saturdays. These included Weekend News and Western Mail. There were also daily newspapers during the week, like The West Australian in the mornings and Daily News in the afternoons.
A special state edition of Murdoch's national newspaper, The Australian, is printed at The Sunday Times office. This newspaper is for a specific group of readers and does not directly compete with The West Australian, which is read by a wider audience.
Seven West Media and News Corp used to have a joint business that produced many local suburban papers under the Community Newspapers name. Seven West Media bought the rest of this business in 2019. The Community Newspapers brand was stopped in 2020. Other independent newspapers not produced by Seven West Media include Echo Newspapers, Examiner Newspapers, Herald Newspapers (which also publishes Perth Voice), and Post Newspapers.
