Lee Enterprises Inc., publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other newspapers, said Wednesday its revenue in January fell 9.2 percent from the prior year.

The company said the decline is the first single-digit percentage drop since 2008. And it said advertising trends have improved for the fifth month in a row.

Newspaper publishers have been struggling with a severe slump in print advertising revenue — typically their main source of income. The drop has been exacerbated by the sluggish economy and the availability of inexpensive alternatives online.

Lee said ad revenue for January fell 10.5 percent from the prior year. Classified ads decreased by 12.1 percent, with job and real estate ads falling the most.

In contrast, total ad revenue fell 16.4 percent in the final three months of 2009, and 23.8 percent in prior quarter.

Lee said improvements in ad revenue seem likely to continue into February and March. In January, online ad revenue rose 5.7 percent.

For the company's second fiscal quarter, which ends in March, Lee said it expects operating costs to fall 9 percent. For fiscal year 2010, these costs should decline 8 percent. Lee previously expected costs to fall 7 percent for the quarter and year.

Lee Enterprises, based in Davenport, Iowa, owns 49 daily newspapers, has joint interest in four others and operates online sites and 300 specialty publications in 23 states.

Lee shares rose 6 cents, 1.6 percent, to close at $3.80.