The Leader Community Newspaper group publishes 33 titles covering metropolitan Melbourne.
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1.3 million people read Leader each week and 1.4 million copies are distributed. 376,000 digital unique audience each month.
History
In the early 1850s George Mott arrived in Australia and began work as a journalist with the Melbourne Argus.
In 1854 he started publishing newspapers in the Victorian goldfields near Beechworth and Chiltern. George Mott's two sons commenced publishing newspapers in Albury and one brother's branch of the family until recently (2005) published The Border Mail in that town.
The other brother, Decimus Mott, left the Murray area in 1924 and, with his sons, took over the established Northcote and Preston Leader (first published in 1888). From this paper, the Leader Community Newspaper group grew into its present stable of 33 separate mastheads.
In 1986 the group was sold to The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd. With the acquisition of The Herald and Weekly Times by News Corporation later that same year, the Leader Newspaper group became a part of News Limited Community Newspapers with a total of 95 publications throughout Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Tasmania.