Northcliffe papers report advertising recovery

The Daily Mail and General Trust claims to have detected the glimmer of an advertising recovery in its Northcliffe regional newspapers. A year after it halted an auction of the titles because of the low price they attracted, the company reports that the papers had seen their first year-on-year advertising increases for more than two years. After falling by 4% in the first quarter, regional advertising revenues were down just 2% in January and February and "in line with last year" for the first four weeks of March. Strong property and digital revenues offset a 13% fall in car listings. The comments echoed a statement earlier this month from a rival, Johnston Press, that falls in advertising had stabilised. (Via FT.com)