The Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd

MORE than 4.5 million newspapers stream each week from the high-tech, high-speed presses of The Herald and Weekly Times, publisher of Australia's largest-selling daily, the Herald Sun.

At its Port Melbourne print site, HWT produces three main titles - the Herald Sun, Sunday Herald Sun and The Weekly Times.
In February 2001 it launched MX, a free daily newspaper for Melbourne rail commuters and CBD workers. The company also prints the Victoria and Tasmania editions of the national daily, The Australian, and the Sunday Telegraph.

The HWT newspapers dominate their market and, in terms of circulation and market penetration, are among the most successful in the world.

The Herald Sun was established in 1990 as an amalgam of the afternoon daily, The Herald, and the morning daily, The Sun News-Pictorial. It sells more than 554,000 copies a day (February 2006), reaching 1.5 million readers.

On any given day, 45 per cent of the adult population of Victoria reads the newspaper and, in the course of a week, 75 per cent of Victorians will read at least one issue.

The Herald Sun remains Australia's most popular daily newspaper, attracting 1,520,000 readers (May 2005) Monday to Friday.

The Sunday Herald Sun has smashed all circulation records in the past 12 months, becoming the fastest growing newspaper in the land. Sales have risen 13,000 year-on-year to more than 618,000 each week (February 2006).

It is read by just on 1.6 million Victorians each Sunday (May 2005).

The venerable farming newspaper The Weekly Times, founded in 1869, has a circulation in excess of 70,000.

HWT's newspaper interests date back to the launch in 1840 of The Port Philip Herald, and the company over time developed into Australia's largest media organisation, with broad investment in newspapers, television, radio and magazines.

Since 1987, HWT has been a division of News Limited, which in turn is part of The News Corporation Limited, controlled by Mr Rupert Murdoch.

With the construction of its $340 million print site at Port Melbourne and the establishment of new headquarters in Melbourne's Southgate precinct, the company has made a huge investment in newspapers as a communications medium.

Through its custom publishing division, HWT also produces specialist magazine titles, including Home, Display Homes, Country and the official magazines of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix and the Australian Open tennis championship.

The company is also an active participant in Internet publishing and digital dissemination of its editorial resources. See our other websites.

HWT plays an important role in the Victorian community as a sponsor or supporter of numerous events and causes. Since 1931 it has conducted the annual Good Friday Appeal that has raised more than $100 million for the Royal Children's Hospital.

The Herald Sun Tour attracts top cyclists from around the world, and the Herald Sun Aria enjoys international recognition as a showcase for young operatic talent.

Many hundreds of other events and organisations benefit from the company's support.