If you were looking for any positive signs from the advertising industry, perhaps as vendors try to drum up business amid the rough economy, forget it. Times are tough there too.

On Tuesday, France’s Publicis said it expects to see weakness in mature markets and traditional sectors and a “marked slowdown” in the ad industry next year.

And Interpublic Chief Executive Michael Roth said clients’ spending plans were under pressure from the financial crisis.

“While we believe that with our strong performance year to date we remain positioned to achieve our financial objectives for 2008, the impact of an increasingly unsettled and volatile business environment on our sector is not yet clear and creates a risk to meeting our stated goals.”

Even Martha Stewart’s Omnimedia machine said advertising revenue in its publishing division fell in the third quarter, and ad results in the current quarter are down so far.

All this after Omnicom last week said some of its retail and automotive clients had begun to cancel some spending plans.

Keep an eye on:

• The Los Angeles Times plans to cut 10 percent of its news staff. (Reuters)
• MSNBC takes hits for its political coverage. (Hollywood Reporter)
• OK! magazine is unveiling a major leadership shake-up. (New York Post)