Johnston Press plans Internet paywall

LONDON (Reuters) - Johnston Press (JPR.L), the nation's biggest publisher of regional newspapers, is to begin charging for the online content of some of its titles, the Independent reported in its Thursday edition.

The company is introducing "paywalls" on some of the group's websites from Monday, making it the first regional publisher to experiment with the scheme, the newspaper added. The regional newspaper industry has been hit hard by a severe downturn in classified advertising, but signs have been emerging that declines may be bottoming out.

(Reporting by Michael Taylor; Editing by Lincoln Feast)