The ownership numbers
Performance figures of UK regional media groups:
Trinity Mirror
- Owns 13 daily paid-for titles, 54 weekly paid-for titles and 77 free weekly papers.
- In February 2009 the group reported 30% reduction in ad revenue for the entire group but 36% fall for regionals. The group said that it “continues to operate comfortably within its financial covenants.”
Northcliffe Media
- Owns 113 daily, weekly and free newspapers. Has an online network of more than 155 local websites.
- Profits down 91% to £3.2m in the six months to March 2009.
- Plans to cut workforce by 1,000 – a reduction of 22%.
Newsquest
- Owns 300 weekly newspapers, magazines and trade publications, including 17 paid-for dailies.
- Ad revenue fell 38.7% year on year in the first quarter of 2009, with property ads down 60%.
- In 2008, the company reported it “had approximately 6,600 fulltime and part-time employees - a reduction of 18%.”
Johnston Press
- Owns 18 dailies, 164 paid-for weeklies and 118 free weeklies, specialist titles and 323 local websites.
- Suffered a 35.9% plunge in ad revenue in the first three months of 2009. Posted a reduction in profits of 27.9% (£128.4m) in 2008.
- Reduced its workforce from 7,538 to 6,408.
Archant
- Owns four daily titles, 26 weekly paid-for and 34 weekly free titles, 80 magazines and 160 websites.
- Pre tax profit fell by 27.2% to £22.2m in 2008.
(Source and annual reports)