IT’S OFFICIAL: The Local Paper is again clearly the Murrindindi region’s ‘number one’ media outlet.

The Local Paper’s combined print-online weekly readership has grown by 32.45 per cent over the past year. Weekly reads now total 23,973, up from 18,099. This represents a growth of 5874 reads weekly.

The Local Paper’s combined print-online monthly readership is now 103,085, based on the latest December 2019 figures. This equals 1,074,285 reads for the year.

Weekly readership of the print issues of The Local Paper is 8820 people. Free copies of the newspaper are available through a network of more than 70 local outlets every week, February-December.

Online readership of The Local Paper continues to grow. There are 15,153 online reads every week (65,159 per month; 781,908 per year), according to AWStats. The Local Paper is available free online; there is no paywall charge such as those imposed by other publishers.

Additionally, some 1080 subscribers opt to have their copy of The Local Paper emailed to them free every week. The median age of those readers is 48, with 63 per cent using desktop, 6 per cent tablet, and 31 per cent mobile.

Further, there are 4931 reads of Local Media publications every issue, using the Issuu platform.

The Local Paper starts the year with 53 advertisers choosing to have their full-page colour ads published every issue in 2020. This is a 32.5 per cent increase on same time last year. Some 120 Trades and Services Guide advertisers have already booked their ads for 2020.

By comparison, according to the Regional Media Connect website, the Alexandra-Eildon-Marysville Standard circulates just 1548 copies weekly. The Yea Chronicle circulates only 547 copies. Those two newspapers do not publish their online readership statistics. Most prudent advertisers require transparent media readership figures to judge the efficiency of their advertising purchases. Some other local media outlets have closed their operations.

The Local Paper is further expanding its readership in 2020. This means that advertisers’ messages will appear in front of more readers every week. They get more value for their marketing spend. The Local Paper is increasing its local news and sports coverage throughout 2020, with more editorial pages each issue. The Local Paper is, by far, the preferred local media outlet for local news, delivered with integrity.