Overview
The Herald is the largest local media organisation, and enjoys a long affinity and reader involvement with the region's residents. It is also well read in Sydney (with readership figures showing an 20% increase in Sydney readership on Saturdays) and interstate, and is usually seen as an accurate record of business and local data for those looking to relocate to the region.
The paper features the only classifieds section published six days a week across the region.
The Herald, along with its sister free weekly The Star, employs more than 310 full-time staff, and injects $17 million into the local economy each year.
In mid-2008, the paper was forced to sell its free weekly Post publication to Newcastle Jets owner Con Constantine following the merger between Fairfax and Rural Press. Rural Press owned the competing Star newspaper and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ruled that the conglomerate was not allowed to own two such similar publications.
Read more about this topic: The Newcastle Herald