Twenty-First Century Fox 2003 Annual Report Download - page 31

29The News Corporation Limited
➤The Herald Sun dramatically out-sold its nearest rival in Melbourne while The Sunday Herald Sun
once again achieved exceptional growth
➤The Australian achieved a 7 percent increase in weekday readership
➤Driven by innovative marketing and the introduction of new sections, The Times achieved the largest
readership increase – up more than 10 percent year-over-year – of any daily broadsheet in the U.K.
News Corporation serves readers and communities around the world
with more local, regional and national English-language newspapers
than any other provider. From the Group’s publishing roots in Australia
to its readership in Papua New Guinea, from the clarion voice of the
New York Post to the award-winning journalism of The Times in London,
News Corporation’s newspaper operations are at the heart of its
connection with consumers.
In fiscal 2003, the Group’s newspapers rose to the challenge of
covering international warfare and confronting lean economic conditions
as they continued to thrive in markets large and small. In Australia,
the papers of News Limited accomplished strong circulation and adver-
tising gains. In the U.K., News International’s market-leading daily
tabloid, The Sun, substantially increased both circulation and market
share while fending off a competitor’s challenge in a long price war.
And in the U.S., the New York Post continued to grow its circulation at
a pace unmatched by any other major American newspaper. Now the
eighth-largest daily newspaper in the country, the Post is fast closing
the gap with its nearest New York rival. During a year of heightened
reader interest in international events and front-line military develop-
ments, the Group’s papers excelled at delivering the greatest coverage
at the greatest speed.
As News Corporation itself has grown from a foundation of journalistic
excellence, so do its papers continue to flourish on that strength.