Sales of the daily quality nationals are still taking a battering, according to the latest ABC figures.
The sector was down more than 5 per cent in the six months from November to April, compared with the same period a year ago.
The Guardian is the only daily quality paper showing a year-on-year increase but last month its sales dropped below 400,000 for the first time since December. Only The Daily Telegraph and The Independent showed month-on-month rises in the sector, both of less than 1 per cent.
There was more bad news for the Daily Mirror and its sister title, the Daily Record. The Mirror was down 3.4 per cent on its poor performance in March, when its anti-war coverage was blamed for the paper’s sales sinking below 2 million. The Record is down 9.9 per cent year-on-year.
The good news for the popular dailies is a third consecutive monthly rise for The Sun, while the Daily Star, despite a slight fall last month, was up by 30 per cent year-on-year.
Sales of the Evening Standard, which shot up in March, have fallen back with a 9 per cent drop in April.
The News of the World, Daily Star Sunday and Sunday Mirror were all up on March. But The People reported another fall and was down more than 15 per cent year-on-year.
The Daily and Sunday Express were both up last month, while the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday showed marginal falls. The Sunday Times recorded a monthly rise of 1.4 per cent and seems to have weathered its hefty price rise. There were smaller monthly increases for The Independent on Sunday, The Observer and The Sunday Telegraph.
By Jon Slattery
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog