The Sunday Times (Western Australia)

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The Sunday Times masthead

The Sunday Times is a News Corporation owned Sunday tabloid newspaper distributed throughout Western Australia. Recent changes to the newspaper have seen it grow in circulation from about 340,000 in 2001 to over 353,000 in 2005 (although it reached figures greater than this in the mid-1990s under the editorship of Don Smith, replaced by Brian Crisp in 1999, who failed to make an impact in the role).

Brett McCarthy took over from Crisp in 2001 and announced his resignation in late May, 2007. His successor was named as Sam Weir on June 8, 2007.

1 History
2 Recent events
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
6 Further reading

[edit] History

Established by Frederick Vosper in the 1890s, The Sunday Times became a vehicle for the harassment of C.Y. O'Connor and the proposed Goldfields Water Supply Scheme in the late 1890s until O'Connor's death by suicide in 1902. A subsequent government inquiry failed to find any justification for Vosper's campaign against O'Connor.

The paper was purchased from Vosper's estate by James MacCallum Smith and Arthur Reid in 1901. In 1912 MacCallum Smith became sole proprietor and managing director, remaining in that role until 1935, as well as being a member of the State Legislative Assembly for 20 years.

Before 1990, Perth enjoyed competitive Saturday newspapers (Weekend News and Western Mail (1980-1988), as well as weekday morning and afternoon dailies (The West Australian and Daily News respectively). However, there appears to be a long-standing reciprocal arrangement that the publishers of The West Australian and The Sunday Times do not compete directly with each other except in the market for weekend classified advertising. Murdoch's national daily The Australian is locally printed at The Sunday Times but is not regarded as a serious competitor to "The West". There has not been a competitive Sunday newspaper since The Independent was bought out by News Corporation in 1984 and wound up in May 1986.

In the context of shrinking demand for newspapers and the ascendancy of television and internet news, The Sunday Times has made adaptations in style and presentation but remains a populist tabloid rather than a newspaper of record. Sunday monopoly status ensures statewide circulation for its extensive display advertising content, making it one of the most profitable newspapers in Australia.

In June 2006, The Sunday Times launched PerthNow, a constantly updated online presentation of local news from News Corporation.

[edit] Recent events

On 30 April 2008, members of the police fraud squad conducted a raid on the offices of The Sunday Times—an unusual event for Australian mainstream media—following a state government complaint that confidential Cabinet information had been 'leaked' to the paper.^[1]^[2]