Expenditure on newspaper, TV, radio and other media advertising rose by 9.7 per cent in 1998, to £390.9 million, AdSpend, the media research service of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland has announced.

Mr Ian Fox, of Ad-Spend, said the figure was in line with market expectations and, if the many smaller media not covered in the survey were included, the figure might exceed £400 million. The percentage breakdown recorded was: national press, 40.7 per cent; regional press, 10 per cent; consumer magazines, 2.6 per cent; TV, 29.2 per cent; radio, 8.7 per cent; outdoor, 7.7 per cent; and cinema, 0.9 per cent.