The number of people consuming The Australian reached its highest-ever level, cementing its place as the nation's best performing national newspaper with strong growth in readership and overall audience. 
A 1.4 per cent month-on-month increase, published in official Enhanced Media Metric Australia (EMMA) data out today, shows The Australian had more than 3.1 million print and digital readers in   March - a record figure. The Australian's editor-in-chief Paul Whittaker said the latest figures came as the newspaper "continued to set the national agenda and break the biggest stories across all platforms" in the lead up to the federal election.
"We are delighted with these results," Mr Whittaker said. "Not only do they continue to demonstrate that ever-higher numbers of people are willing to pay for quality journalism across a variety of digital formats, they also tell a great growth story for The Australian as we relaunch The Weekend Australian Magazine.
"The combination of our print and digital audience is a formidable force for our journalism. Our growing subscriber base is incredibly attractive to advertisers due to their engagement levels and profile." With a strong response from advertisers, The Weekend Australian Magazine is relaunching on Saturday with more lifestyle content and new sections. It will increase to 68 pages for the first issue, up from a minimum book size of 40 pages.
Combined, TheDaily Telegraph and TheSunday Telegraph had the second largest newspaper brand across all platforms with an audience of 5.9 million. The Courier-Mail grew its audience by 3.1 per cent to 3 million. The Herald Sun was down 2.5 per cent at 4.2 million.
All four titles are published by News Corp Australia, which reaches 16 million Australians aged 14 and over each month, or 89 per cent of the population when community titles are included - spanning newspapers, magazines and online properties.
A spokesman for News Corp Australia said the figures showed the publisher's audience reach continues to grow.
"No other publisher comes close to this total," he said. "Equally importantly, we continue to lead in the categories that matter to Australians. To highlight just one, Escape is the biggest travel brand in Australia, now reaching 4.7 million people every month."Fairfax Media's Australian Financial Review fell by 6.4 per cent to 1.5 million. The Sydney Morning Herald remains the largest newspaper brand across all platforms with an audience of 5.9 million readers, but growth was flat at 0.9 per cent. Fairfax's Victorian masthead, The Age, saw a 5.5 per cent readership decline to 3.3 million.