Newly published circulation figures for the Scottish newspaper industry show a worrying level of decline across the sector.
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, most Scottish titles experienced a double digit drop in circulation from December 2011 to December last year.
The worst of the Scottish newspapers was the Sunday Mail, 22.1 per cent down going from 352,285 copies to 274,238. Not far behind was the Sunday Post, with 216,717 copies down to 176,265 representing a drop of 18.7 per cent.
The Scotsman’s Sunday sister – Scotland on Sunday fared little better, an 18.6 per cent fall from 43,369 to 35,312.
The Scottish dailies saw both the Daily Record and the Scottish Sun experience falls in circulation of 8.8 per cent.
The Record which had a daily circulation of 263,251 on average in December 2011, was at 240,120 last month. Its rival, the Scottish Sun has gone from 302,823 copies each day to 276,154.
The Scotsman newspaper has seen its circulation fall by 15.5 per cent from 38,159 to 32,063 copies each day.
The Herald and Sunday Herald are no longer counted in the monthly figures following a decision by the group’s owners to re-designate the titles as ‘regional’ and not national. They will now be part of the sales survey once every six months.