The owners of Orkney's two weekly newspapers, Orkney Today and The Orcadian, are considering a possible merger.

Staff at both titles were told on Friday that talks were taking place.

James Miller, manging director of The Orcadian Limited and editor of The Orcadian, confirmed the news to HoldtheFrontPage, but said he was unable to comment further.

If the merger went ahead, it is not clear whether the two titles would be combined or if they would continue to appear separately.

The Orcadian is Orkney's long-established newspaper, founded in 1854 by James Urquhart Anderson.

It remains a family-run enterprise, and the current editor and proprietor James Miller is Anderson's great, great, great grandson.

It is published every Thursday and has a circulation of 10,256, down 3.5 per cent year on year.