—Trinity Mirror: More tough-talking from Trinity Mirror (LSE: TNI) CEO Sly Bailey: in a very rare TV interview, she told Jeff Randall on Sky News about the company’s “aggressive” cost-cutting programme: “We are closing titles if we can’t find a path to profitability – relunctantly, I will say.” Bailey optimistically predicted that ad spend would return to newspapers and said it was premature to write off print entirely. Transcript via Shaun Milne

—Metro: DMGT’s free morning national newspaper Metro is feeling the advertising collapse just as much as its paid-for peers. At a meeting to celebrate its tenth birthday today, MD Steve Auckland said: “The paper is still profitable, but it has suffered a double-digit decline in ad revenues in the first quarter. This will continue for the next six months.” This follows a single-digit ad revenue decline in October and December. Auckland also says the paper won’t overbid to renew its crucial contract to distribute in London Underground stations when the deal runs out next month. And if News International does win the contract, he says the paper will simply shift to distribution by hand. From Mediaweek and PG.

—Economist: The Economist Group is shutting its CFO monthy magazine division in Asia with the closure of the English-language CFO Asia and the Chinese-language CFO China. The company’s 17 staff now have an uncertain future but the cuts won’t directly affect the CFO titles in Europe and America. The company says that circulation and marketing spend falls made the magazines “unviable”. At the same time, the Financial Times, whose publisher Pearson (NYSE: PSO) owns half of The Economist, this week launched its China Confidential newsletter and website. From Reuters.com.

—Archant: Local and regional newspaper publisher Archant has appointed Martin Cunningham as commercial director of its Homes24.co.uk property site. Formerly CEO of Norfolk-based estate agents Howards, will be responsible for Archant’s digital team and the site’s development—something he was previously involved in as a commercial client. From Mediaweek.

—Dagenham Council paper: As if local papers didn’t have enough to worry about, more and more local councils are starving them of advertising revenue by launching their own papers. The latest is Dagenham Borough Council in east London which is withdrawing advertising from the Barking and Dagenham Recorder after the launch of its own fortnightly, 90,000 circulation paper in May. The Archant-owned Recorder will lose about £75,000 a year as a result. Plus, the council’s paper will reportedly have eight staff and will be run as a business, competing against local media for commercial advertising as well as taking all local government ads. Via PG.

—Sport Media Group: Two months after admitting it had breached one its banking covenants, Sport Media Group has announced an interim extension to its debt facility. A long-term deal is being “finalised” and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. The company says it is confident of securing that long-term deal, but having recently announced it would consider sale offers for all or part of the company, it “continues to explore all other possibilities to secure the group’s future”. Release.