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Archant, the regional newspaper group based in Norwich, may have arrived at a better approach to managing change in the industry than its rivals. It has been steadily developing and buying magazines which in general circulate in the same areas as their newspapers.

The half-year figures show modest increases in both turnover and operating profit. John Fry, the chief executive believes that while “negative sentiment” and high profile disposals have given the impression the sector is in decline this “couldn’t be further from the truth”.

That is the view you might expect from the boss of a regional group but there are signs that Archant’s rather different approach is working. It now has four dailies, 75 weeklies and 75 magazines as well as 120 websites.

The half-yearly announcement describes the approach as the “development of a layered strategy” which recognises that while newspapers continued to be an important part of the local mix many advertisers and consumers also want a range of comlpementary products.

This has, they say, been particularly noticeable with web classified advertising where the closely tied online and print brands offered more than online only competitors were able to provide.

One of the results is that Archant says its recruitment advertising has been showing “solid growth” helped by the online revenues.

Fry says: “We have demonstrated that tight cost control, on the low growth areas of the business, allows you to invest in higher growth activities. Our web audiences are growing in excess of 50% a year. The advertising revenue we generate from those audiences is also growing. Our local magazine business is showing audience growth, revenue growth, and an increasing number of the titles delivering profits as they become established.”