The Daily Telegraph recorded its lowest-ever circulation figure last month as sales slipped below 900,000 for the first time.
Latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations show sales of the Telegraph fell to 897,385 in the first full month without editor Martin Newland, slightly down on November.
With December traditionally being one of the weakest months of the year for newspaper sales, the 0.8% year-on-year dip was enough to push the Telegraph's circulation to a record low.
Sales of the Guardian, the Times and the Independent fell for the second consecutive month in December as the Christmas slowdown hit circulations.
The Guardian lost around 20,000 sales, taking its December figure to 380,693, 5% down on November but nearly 6% higher than the figure for December 2004.
The Independent also fell by 5% month on month to 250,195, fractionally down on the figure for 2004. Sales of the Times were down 4% at 661,400, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Of the quality papers, only the Financial Times managed to increase sales, recording a 1.8% rise in December to 439,563, up nearly 3% on December 2004.
However, the FT's figures were boosted by an extra 10,000 multiple sale copies and a doubling of pre-paid subscriptions.
The mid-market papers were not hit as heavily by the Christmas slowdown, although the Daily Express has lost over a tenth of its sales over the past 12 months.
Month on month, sales of the Express rose slightly, while the Daily Mail suffered a slight drop.
For much of last year, the red-top press was the biggest victim of falling newspaper circulations as the quality press invested in relaunches and promotional campaigns.
But the situation was reversed in December, when most of the traditional tabloids stemmed their losses.
The Daily Mirror added around 7,000 to its November sales to reach 1,678,997 last month, and the Sun's circulation fell by 2% month on month to reach 3,119,757.
But year on year all the red-top papers lost ground, with average sales down 2% year on year.
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