Regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press reported an 8 per cent fall in advertising revenues today.
The group, which owns more than 300 titles including The Scotsmanand the Yorkshire Post, suffered from a sharp fall in job and motor advertising. Advertising spending by retailers was also down.
Johnston said property advertising revenues were up, but warned that overall "the board does not see any early indication of improvements in advertising markets".
Johnston said print advertising revenues fell 8 per cent between July and November, although the decline was reduced to 7.4 per cent when digital revenues were included.
Employment advertising fell 12.2 per cent in the five months to the end of November and 24.2 per cent in the first half of the year.
The newspaper industry has suffered as lucrative advertising spend has shifted from print to the internet in recent years.