Media group Johnston Press reported a 9.8 per cent fall in like-for-like total revenue at 144.3m pounds in the first half as advertising sales slipped.A 13.6% drop in advertising revenue failed to offset a 13.3% increase in digital revenue. Nevertheless, the company managed to achieve a 4.3% rise in like-for-like operating profit to £28.6m, as a result of £24.3m reduction in costs.The company, which owns The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post newspapers, along with nearly 300 other titles, started a major restructuring last year."Johnston Press has continued to make good progress during the first half in the implementation of its strategy for growth, completing the re-launch of its print titles and investing further in technology to build its digital platform whilst maintaining a tight control on costs," said Chief Executive, Ashley Highfield. An impairment charge of £194m on its publishing titles and a £58m write-down on print press assets resulted in the group reporting an operating loss of £225m.Debt was down more than 15.3% to £306m at the end of the period compared to last year. Highfield said that while the economic outlook presents challenges, momentum has continued in the second half thanks to the restructuring."We remain focused on adapting our business to the changing environment in which we operate and reaching the point where digital growth will offset any further decline so that we can return to overall top line growth," he added."In view of this operational progress, we expect the results for 2013 to be broadly in line with current market expectations."RD