THE Weekly Times remains Australia's biggest rural newspaper, continuing to outgrow other rural newspapers.
Recent figures confirm The Weekly Times is the nation's favourite rural newspaper, posting both a readership and circulation increase in the past 12 months.
It was the only rural newspaper to lift in both these important areas.
The Weekly Times now has 252,000 readers each week, a rise of 2 per cent in the past 12 months. In contrast, Stock and Land has just 35,000 readers, a staggering drop of 27 per cent.
The Weekly Times also sells more than 71,000 copies a week, up 0.3 per cent on a year ago.
Its closest rival, The Land in NSW, sells 50,464 copies a week, a drop of 1.9 per cent, while Stock and Land has plunged 6.7 per cent in the past 12 months, now selling just 9380 copies a week.
The Weekly Times editor Ed Gannon said the strong results reflected the newspaper's desire to keep readers informed on issues that matter.
"This year we celebrate our 140th birthday, but more importantly we have shown that we are more relevant than ever before," Mr Gannon said.
"In the past 12 months our coverage of issues such as water, the bushfires, collapsed MIS, dairy prices and wool's woes have been second to none.
"Add to that our great footy coverage, FARM and HOME magazines, Country Living and commodity coverage, and you can see why we are ahead of the pack."
