Gannett reported an 11.7% year-on-year drop in its third-quarter ad revenues and a 6.4% drop in its circulation revenues, excluding revenues from two recent acquisitions of Journal Media Group (JMG) and North Jersey Media Group.

Print advertising revenues for the three months that ended on September 25 fell 14.8%, led by a 35.1% reduction in national print advertising and a 19.1% reduction in preprints.

"To combat the continuing challenges in print advertising trends, the company is implementing cost-saving initiatives, which include reductions throughout our operations, as well as in corporate support and related functions," stated John Zidich, president of Domestic Publishing.

Yesterday, The Daily Blog reported that Gannett plans to lay off roughly 350 employees, or around 2% of its total workforce of about 18,700.

Gannett, which is the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, with a portfolio that includes USA Today and more than 100 local publications, did have some positive numbers in its third-quarter report.

Digital advertising revenues were up 6.2%, compared to the quarter a year ago, due primarily to the addition of JMG and North Jersey Media Group. Excluding those acquisitions, digital-advertising revenues increased 4.4%, driven by a 53.1% increase in video and mobile display and a 26.4% increase in other sources of digital advertising revenues from affiliates, per Gannett.

Digital-only subscriptions grew 45%.

“While we saw signs of improvement late in the third quarter, we were disappointed with our performance, and as we expected, it was our most challenging period in 2016,” stated Robert J. Dickey, Gannett president and CEO. “We have implemented initiatives that will result in $10 million of additional cost savings in the fourth quarter to align our cost structure with the current industry environment."

Dickey says the actions have been taken as the company continues its digital transformation.

As the end of the year approaches, newspaper publishers will look to cut costs with layoffs to make up for declining print advertising revenue. The New York Times reported that spending on newspaper advertising in the U.S. is projected to fall 11% this year, to about $12.5 billion, according to the Interpublic Group's Magna.

Meanwhile, Gannett’s bid to acquire tronc — formerly Tribune Publishing — is on hold, after banks that were poised to finance the deal backed out.