Johnston Press PLC
15 December 2004


For Immediate Release                                           15 December 2004

                                JOHNSTON PRESS plc

                            PRE-CLOSE TRADING UPDATE


Johnston Press plc issues the following trading update relating to the second
half of the financial year ending 31 December 2004 and ahead of the Group's
preliminary results announcement scheduled for 16 March 2005.

The Chief Executive's half-year statement of 25 August 2004 envisaged continued
advertising revenue growth in the second half of the year, albeit at a slower
rate than the first half due to stronger comparatives over the same period in
2003.  In the event, like-for-like growth for the five months to 30 November
2004 has been stronger than anticipated at 4.9%, although below the 6.0%
achieved in the first half of the year.

Reflecting the stronger comparatives, the rate of growth during the period in
employment and display revenues slowed, whereas the growth rate for property
revenues increased reflecting the need for vendors to work harder in a more
difficult housing market.  Motors advertising saw a modest reduction, affected
by the continued dealer consolidation in this sector.  The other classified
advertising category continued to grow broadly in line with results reported for
the six months to 30 June.

Newspaper sales revenues continued to grow over the period, buoyed by further
modest overall circulation growth of our weekly titles, which are now into their
ninth successive year of increase.  The focus of attention on our daily titles
has resulted in some improvements, although overall circulation remains in
decline, in part reflecting a further reduction in bulk sales.

In overall terms, the satisfactory level of revenue growth coupled with good
control of costs and continued investment for efficiencies, is expected to
result in profits for the year to 31 December 2004 being above current market
expectations.   Despite the tougher comparatives, looking forward the Board
expects to see another year of growth in advertising and other  revenue streams.
  This, coupled with the tight management of costs, further efficiency gains,
and incorporating anticipated increases in newsprint prices, should lead to
another year of satisfactory progress for the Group in 2005.


Contact:

Tim Bowdler, Chief Executive or
Stuart Paterson, Finance Director
Johnston Press plc                                     Tel: 0131 225 3361

Richard Oldworth/Suzanne Brocks
Buchanan Communications                                Tel: 020 7466 5000



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