The West Australian facts for kids
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Front page of The West Australian
21 January 2022 |
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| Type | Daily newspaper (Mon. – Sat.) |
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| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Seven West Media |
| Founded | 5 January 1833 |
| Political alignment | Centre-right |
| Headquarters | 50 Hasler Road, Osborne Park, Western Australia |
| Circulation | 340,000 (as of 2024) |
| ISSN | 0312-6323 |
The West Australian is the main daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It's the only one edited right there in Perth! This newspaper is owned by a company called Seven West Media. This company also owns another big newspaper in Western Australia, The Sunday Times.
The West Australian is one of the oldest newspapers in Australia. It has been published since 1833, which is a very long time! The newspaper often shares ideas that are more conservative (meaning they prefer traditional ways). It has usually supported the Liberal–National Party Coalition in politics. A lot of people in Western Australia read this newspaper, more than any other newspaper in the country.
Contents
What's Inside The West Australian?
The West Australian newspaper shares news from all over the world, Australia, and local news from Western Australia. Since 2015, the newspaper has worked closely with the TV news team from Seven News in Perth. Their news reporters even moved to the newspaper's office in Osborne Park.
Seven West Media also runs two websites from Osborne Park: thewest.com.au and PerthNow. The daily newspaper often includes special sections called "lift-outs." These can be about magazines, TV guides, weekend activities, or health and wellness. Thewest.com.au is the online version of the newspaper, but you usually need to pay to read it.
How the Newspaper Leans Politically
The West Australian newspaper often supports political ideas that are considered right wing. In 2022, an article in the newspaper said it was "economically conservative, but socially progressive." This means it likes traditional ideas about money and business, but is open to new ideas about society.
For many years, from 1922 to 1969, the newspaper supported the conservative Coalition in federal elections. However, in the 2017 state election in Western Australia, the newspaper supported the Australian Labor Party. This party was led by Mark McGowan.
More recently, the newspaper supported the Coalition in the 2019 federal election. Then, it supported Labor in the 2021 state election. In the 2022 federal election, it went back to supporting the Coalition. During the COVID-19 pandemic, The West Australian supported the Labor Government. But after January 20, 2022, when the state borders were kept closed, the newspaper became very critical of the government's actions.
How the Newspaper Looks
The West Australian used to be a very serious, traditional newspaper. But now, it looks more like a popular tabloid newspaper. It uses lots of bright colours in its printing. Because it's the main newspaper in the state, it can get a lot of advertisements. Sometimes, ads are even on the front page, wrapped around the news section.
Who Reads The West Australian?
In 2015, the newspaper said that about 1.8 million people read its print and online versions each month. This was about 70,000 readers each day. However, in 2016, the newspaper's profits dropped by almost 25%. Fewer people were buying the newspaper too. The weekday sales went down from 157,000 to 145,000 copies. The weekend edition also sold less. Because of this, the company had to cut costs, which included reducing staff.
By 2021, the combined readership of The West Australian and The Sunday Times was 4.1 million people per month. In 2022, the chief executive of Seven West Media WA said this number grew to 4.5 million per month. This number included people visiting other websites like PerthNow and watching online videos.
Who Owns The West Australian?
For a long time, from the 1920s, The West Australian was owned by a company called West Australian Newspapers. In 1969, a company from Melbourne bought West Australian Newspapers. Then, in 1987, it was sold to Robert Holmes à Court's company. The next year, Alan Bond's company took control.
This ownership didn't last long because Bond Corporation faced financial problems. A new company, West Australian Newspapers Holdings, then bought the newspaper. They offered shares to the public, and many people bought them. The company was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1992. After buying the Seven Media Group in 2011, West Australian Newspapers Holdings changed its name to Seven West Media. This made it Australia's largest media business that does many different things.
History of The West Australian
The West Australian started as The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. The very first edition came out on January 5, 1833. It was owned and edited by Perth's postmaster, Charles Macfaull. It was a weekly newspaper with four pages.
Over the years, the newspaper changed its name a few times. In 1864, it became The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Times. Later, in 1874, it was renamed The Western Australian Times and started publishing twice a week. Finally, on November 18, 1879, it was relaunched as The West Australian. By 1885, it became a daily newspaper. The owners of The West Australian also started another newspaper called Western Mail in 1885. At first, it was hard to deliver the paper to faraway places. But as the railway system grew in the early 1900s, it became much easier to get the newspaper to more readers.
In 2015, Seven West Media was allowed to buy The Sunday Times. This meant they owned the two biggest newspapers in Western Australia. This deal, which also included the website PerthNow, was completed in 2016. In 2019, Seven West Media also bought Community Newspaper Group, adding 13 more local newspapers. They moved all these community websites onto the PerthNow website. In June 2019, The West Australian started putting some of its website content behind a paywall, meaning you had to pay to read it.
Where the Newspaper Has Been Located
In 1933, The West Australian moved into a special building called Newspaper House on St Georges Terrace in Perth. This building was a well-known landmark for over 50 years. The newspaper moved out of Newspaper House in the mid-1980s. The building was later refurbished.
In 1988, bigger and more modern printing presses were built in Osborne Park. Then, in 1998, the newspaper's editorial team also moved to the Osborne Park complex.
Special Publications
Over the years, the newspaper has published many special items. In the 1940s, it published books about West Australian wildflowers. It also published calendars, gardening books, and collections of old photographs.
In 1954, to celebrate the visit of Queen Elizabeth II, the newspaper produced a special souvenir program.
On May 27, 2022, for National Reconciliation Week, the newspaper published a special edition called Marawar Boodjara. The front cover was written in two languages: the local Indigenous language, Noongar, and English. This was done with help from the newspaper's Noongar language expert, Alison Nannup. Many people, including the Prime Minister, praised this special edition. They did it again the next year, on May 28, 2023.
Editors of The West Australian
Many people have been in charge of editing The West Australian over its long history. Here are some of them:
- 1833–1846 Charles Macfaull
- 1847–1871 Arthur Shenton
- 1871–1874 Mercy Shenton
- 1874–1879 Rev. C. G. Nicolay and John Rowland Jones; Henry Hullock
- 1879–1887 Sir Thomas Cockburn-Campbell
- 1887–1916 John Winthrop Hackett
- 1916–1927 Alfred Langler
- 1927–1951 Charles Patrick Smith
- 1951–1956 James Edward "Jim" Macartney
- 1956–1972 W. T. G. (William Thomas Griffith) "Griff" Richards
- 1972–1972 F. B. (Fred) Morony
- 1972–1983 M. C. (Bon) Uren
- 1983–1987 D. B. (Don) Smith
- 1987–1988 R. E. (Bob) Cronin
- 1988–1990 Don Baker
- 1990–2000 Paul Murray
- 2000–2003 Brian Rogers
- 2003–2008 Paul Armstrong
- 2008–2009 R. E. (Bob) Cronin
- 2009–2018 Brett McCarthy
- 2018–2024 Anthony De Ceglie
- 2024–present Christopher Dore (editor-in-chief) Sarah-Jane Tasker (editor)
People Who Wrote for the Newspaper
Many famous people have contributed to The West Australian. Here are a few:
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See Also
- List of newspapers in Western Australia
