The Daily Mail and its owner, General Trust, announced today that national newspaper advertising revenue have fallen 16% in the past 11 months while regional advertising fell 31%, guardian.co.uk reports. DMGT has recently cut 200 jobs, part of "decisive actions taken on costs, with £150m of savings delivered." While revenue is reported to have dropped 9% in the last 11 months, analysts are expecting profit before tax of £182m and earnings per share of 35.7 pence.

DMGT exudes confidence however, claiming to have reacted early to the downturn with staff reductions and other cost-cuts that leave it in a good position for a fall recovery and an expected rise in the advertising market.

"Industry observers will be keen to see more evidence of DMGT's digital strategy at the full-year results, which will be an important factor in the next few years as the newspaper industry continues to face structural decline," says Andy Viner, head of media at BDO Stoy Hayward.

Perhaps most interesting about this report is the total lack of mention of the Guardian's own fiscal woes. We recently posted here on the likely rumor of the sale of paidContent.org to shore up massive losses by Guardian News and Media, estimated to be shedding around £100,000 daily.

Furthermore, a commenter on the guardian.co.uk article wisely notes that "it is interesting to see that MediaGuardian invites comments regarding this story but that whenever there is a financial story or job-related story regarding the Guardian or its Trust no such facility is offered."

Source: MediaGuardian