Digital news media is read by 13.1 million Australians, continuing the growing trend for consumers to seek their trusted news, entertainment and information digitally, according to the latest Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (emma) data for July 2018.

Across print and digital news media, 88 per cent of Australians, or 16.3 million people, now read news media.

Newspapers alone are read by 12.1 million people, or 66 per cent of the population. Metro newspapers are read by 10 million people, or 54 per cent of consumers.

Regional and community news media brands are read by 5.8 million people, or one-third of the population (32 per cent).

In addition to the industry currency readership data, emma CMV provides valuable insights into Australian consumers’ product purchases, behaviour and attitudes.

This data has revealed that Australians are becoming more discerning, with three in four Australians (74 per cent aged 14+) seeking quality over price when it comes to their purchases.

A greater proportion of men (77 per cent) agree with this than women (72 per cent).

One in two Australians now believe that stores’ own brand products offer equal quality to well-known brands. More women (51 per cent) agree with this than men (44 per cent).

NewsMediaWorks CEO Peter Miller said: “The inexorable rise of the ubiquitous smartphone device will continue to drive digital readership of our news media, as people seek their trusted news brands on the go and in the palm of their hands.

“This equips publishers with compelling commercial opportunities in cross-platform brand and content propositions, which is a terrific, positive outcome.

“It’s interesting to note that consumers overwhelmingly say they value quality over price.

“This is also clearly reflected in the news media sector where digital subscriptions are growing because of the trust that authoritative, credible journalism commands.

“The Galaxy data from the ADTRUST study demonstrates that greater trust in a media channel positively impacts purchase intent.”

This is the fifth month of emma cross platform readership data to come from Nielsen, in a new strategic collaboration announced in May.

Under the new arrangement, Nielsen leads the fusion process that brings together the industry accredited print readership data from Ipsos and Nielsen’s IAB-accredited digital audience data, to deliver a total audience readership.

Nielsen Consumer & Media View (CMV) is fused to the emma Cross Platform data to provide critical product and attitudinal data.