Seven West Media’s digital-first news platform, The Nightly, celebrated its first anniversary in style with a high-profile federal election forum at the Sydney Opera House.
The event brought together media leaders, marketing executives, and political analysts for a deep dive into The Nightly’s breakout year and the consumer, economic and news landscape ahead of the 2025 federal election.
The evening featured a keynote from The Nightly’s editor-in-chief Chris Dore, followed by a panel discussion with ThinkNewsBrands CEO Vanessa Lyons and Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine. Guests also heard from some of The Nightly’s top writers, offering expert political insights.
The Nightly’s Growth and What’s Next
Kicking off the event, Dore shared the latest performance figures, revealing The Nightly has grown to 3 million monthly readers. Since launching in February 2024, the publication has gained strong momentum, quickly positioning itself as a national news player.
“The Nightly is transforming how people think about news published on digital platforms, as we build a unique bridge between traditional newspaper journalism and the mobile reading habits of the modern news consumer,” Dore said. “Through a powerful tabloid front page with a sophisticated broadsheet edge each night, we have come a long way in a short period of time, and we have a long way to go.”
The Nightly is now looking to the future, with new initiatives set to roll out in the coming months. One of the biggest is the launch of a weekend travel vertical, which will debut towards the end of the financial year.
“This will be our first foray into lifestyle categories, and it will be the first digital-first travel product among news publishers. We’ll soon be announcing our great new editorial travel team, including lead editor, so watch this space,” Dore explained.
Consumer Sentiment and Election Polling
ThinkNewsBrands CEO Vanessa Lyons and Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine were next up to share the latest consumer sentiment data, which painted a challenging picture heading into the federal election.
“Consumer confidence is at its lowest point this year,” Levine said. “Nearly half of Australians say their families are worse off than they were a year ago, and for the first time, more respondents expect their financial situation to decline rather than improve over the next 12 months.”
She noted that unemployment has grown 1.4 points to 11.5 per cent and that distrust is at an all-time high.
“Only 8 per cent of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the economy in the year ahead, while 32 per cent anticipate ‘bad times’—the highest level of economic pessimism recorded this year,” Michele said.
On the political front, Roy Morgan polling shows that the Albanese Government has strengthened its position, holding a two-party preferred lead that would secure a parliamentary majority.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has suffered a setback after a bad couple of weeks which appear to have hurt the Coalition’s standing.
Why Election Years Are a Boon for News Publishers
Lyons and Levine also highlighted how major political events present a golden opportunity for media buyers and advertisers, with news readership historically surging during election cycles and other political events.
“In 2023, news readership spiked in October due to The Voice referendum, while the 2022 federal election made May one of the biggest months for Australian publishers,” Levine noted.
Lyons pointed to ThinkNewsBrands research showing that news publishing remains the dominant media channel for political content, preferred by audiences five times more than social media and seven times more than radio.
Levine said, “the old saying ‘news sells newspapers’ is 100% right. People head to news publishers when they want to get information.”
“This election, we expect to see even more Australians turning to trusted news sources amid growing concerns about misinformation. Lyons said. “With the election around the corner, now is the time for brands to maximise their reach and engagement through news publishing.”
The Nightly’s Winning Formula
Before the event turned to political insights from The Nightly’s writers, discussion on what’s driving The Nightly’s success took place.
“The Nightly has firmly positioned itself as a national publication,” Lyons said, highlighting that 80 per cent of its readership is outside of WA, with the majority in NSW, Victoria, and Queensland.”
Lyons noted that a key factor in its growth has been its ability to tap into evolving readership habits.
“Digital accessibility has allowed state-based news brands to expand their reach beyond traditional markets, and The Nightly has capitalised on that trend,” Lyons explained. “Its 6pm release time aligns with a major evening news consumption peak, complementing existing morning and lunchtime readership surges.”
She added that The Nightly is at the forefront of the industry’s shift from print to digital, embracing a mobile-first design, bold front covers, and interactive ad formats.
“The Nightly has always been built for a digital-first audience and really focused on the potential of a digital-first product,” Lyons said. “It’s an exciting example of what the future of news publishing may look like.”
