About WA Business News

Business News (Western Australia)

Business News — formerly WA Business News — is an independently owned business media organisation based in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1992 by Harry Kleyn and his business partners Vanguard Press as a fortnightly free-circulation newspaper, the publication has grown into Western Australia's leading independent business news service: a digital news operation plus a fortnightly business magazine. Its twice-daily business alerts reach 45,000 email addresses, and the magazine has a total fortnightly circulation of 11,100 with a readership of 28,280. In 2000, with new investors, the paper developed a digital edition and moved to weekly circulation; in 2002 it adopted a subscription business model; and in 2013 the company re-branded to Business News and expanded its paywall around its digital assets.

Overview

Business News serves Western Australia's business community: the miners, the developers, the professional firms, the entrepreneurs and the executives of one of Australia's most dynamic state economies. Based in Perth, the organisation publishes business news digitally — with free Daily Business Alert emails delivered at 7.00am and 4.00pm, plus an industry Mining alert — and in print as a fortnightly business magazine. Its journalism covers commerce, politics and industry: the deals, the appointments, the results, the policy decisions and the personalities of WA business.

History

Harry Kleyn founded WA Business News in 1992 with Vanguard Press as a fortnightly free-circulation newspaper — an independent business paper for a state whose business news had been dominated by the West Australian. In 2000 new investors backed the paper's expansion: a digital edition was developed and circulation went weekly. In 2002 the paper moved to a subscription model, betting that WA's business community would pay for specialist journalism. The 2013 re-brand to Business News — dropping the WA from the masthead even as the coverage stayed resolutely Western Australian — coincided with the expansion of the paywall around the digital assets.

The business proved the model. In March 2021 the company announced that its editorial budget had grown 78 per cent over the previous three years, with subscription revenue up 53 per cent, advertising revenue up 145 per cent, and events revenue almost tripling — the numbers of an independent publisher thriving in the subscription era.

Content

Business News publishes business journalism across print, digital, audio and events. The fortnightly magazine carries the deep reporting: company profiles, sector analysis, the deals and the appointments. The digital service delivers breaking business news with the twice-daily alerts. The annual Book of Lists ranks the biggest companies in each Western Australian sector — the reference work of WA business. The events program includes the 40under40 Awards for young business achievers, the WA Business Awards for the state's most successful private companies, the Success & Leadership breakfast series with WA business leaders, the Politics & Business breakfasts with politicians from both sides, and Sector Briefing lunches on industry challenges and opportunities. Daily and weekly podcasts carry the editorial team's commentary and original reporting.

Coverage and Audience

Business News covers Western Australia's business community: Perth's corporate and professional sectors, the mining and energy industries, property and construction, agriculture, tourism and the regions. Its audience is the state's business owners, directors and leaders — the 45,000 email addresses on the alert lists, the magazine's 28,280 readers, the event attendees and the podcast listeners. As an independent, the publication's only constituency is its readers: no corporate parent, no political patron.

Ownership

Business News is independently owned — founded by Harry Kleyn and Vanguard Press in 1992, and developed with new investors from 2000. Its independence is its market position: Western Australia's business paper, owned in Western Australia, answerable to its subscribers. The National Library of Australia catalogues the publication's digital editions, published in Perth by Business News Pty Ltd.

Digital Presence

Business News operates a substantial digital news service: the twice-daily Daily Business Alert emails (7.00am and 4.00pm), the Mining industry alert, the paywalled website, and the daily and weekly podcasts. The 2013 paywall expansion made the digital assets the core of the subscription business — a model the 2021 revenue figures vindicated. For nearly 30 years, in the company's own account, Business News has been the independent source for quality news and information about commerce, politics and industry in Western Australia — in print, in the inbox, and on the podcast feed.

The 1992 Founding

Harry Kleyn's 1992 launch of WA Business News came as Western Australia's economy was emerging from the WA Inc era — the state rebuilding its business reputation after the scandals of the 1980s. A fortnightly free-circulation business newspaper was a bet that the state's business community wanted its own paper: not the general news of the West Australian, but the deals, the appointments and the data of commerce. Vanguard Press's backing gave the startup its publishing base; Kleyn's vision gave it its editorial mission. The free-circulation model — the paper distributed to the business community, paid for by advertisers — got the title into the hands that mattered.

The 2000 Expansion

The arrival of new investors in 2000 transformed the paper: a digital edition was developed — early for an Australian business paper — and circulation went from fortnightly to weekly. The timing caught the beginning of the mining boom that would make WA Australia's economic engine: the paper's weekly rhythm matched the quickening pace of deals, floats and appointments. The 2002 move to subscriptions was the bolder bet: asking WA business to pay for what it had received free. That the model held — and grew — showed the value the community placed on independent business journalism.

The Book of Lists

The annual Book of Lists is Business News's signature print product: the ranking of the biggest companies in each Western Australian sector — the miners by production, the builders by revenue, the law firms by partners, the charities by income. For WA business, the Book of Lists is the reference shelf: the data of the state's corporate economy, compiled and ranked, year after year. The publication embodies the paper's data-driven approach: business journalism as information service, not just narrative.

The Awards

The 40under40 Awards — recognising young business achievers — and the WA Business Awards — for the state's most successful private companies — are fixtures of the WA business calendar. The awards do what business papers have always done: convene the community, celebrate its successes, and give the next generation its stage. The Success & Leadership breakfasts, with WA business leaders telling their professional and personal stories, and the Politics & Business breakfasts, with politicians from both sides of the spectrum, make Business News a convener as well as a chronicler.

The 2021 Numbers

The March 2021 announcement — editorial budget up 78 per cent in three years, subscriptions up 53 per cent, advertising up 145 per cent, events nearly tripled — was the vindication of the independent subscription model. While metropolitan newspapers cut editorial budgets, Business News was expanding its newsroom. The numbers told a story the industry needed to hear: that specialist, independent, subscription-funded journalism could grow — in Perth, in business news, in the 2020s.

The Podcasts

Business News's daily and weekly podcasts extend the editorial team's reporting into audio: commentary and original reporting in convenient, timely episodes. The podcasts serve the time-poor executive audience — the commute, the gym, the morning routine — with the same commerce, politics and industry coverage as the print and digital editions. In the crowded business-podcast market, the WA focus is the differentiator: the only daily business audio made for Western Australia.