Posted on 01/14/2009 4:53:27 AM PST by abb
As expected, 2008 wrapped up on a spectacularly sour note for consumer magazines, as the recession pummeled ad pages across the board. According to figures released by the Publishers Information Bureau Tuesday, total ad pages fell a remarkable 17.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007; that's equal to about 13,000 ad pages. For 2008 overall, magazines suffered an 11.7% decline compared to 2007 (and that's on top of a 1% decline in 2007 compared to 2006).
First, the scarce good news, which mostly graced newer titles. Ad pages at Rodale's Bestlife, the relatively new men's lifestyle title, were up 7.3%, to 231. Ad pages at Wondertime, Disney's fairly new parenting title, soared 35.4% to 198, while competitor Cookie from Conde Nast grew a more modest 3.5% to 285. A relative newcomer in the newsweekly category, The Week, was strong with 9.1% growth to 221. Among more established titles, Hachette's Elle rose 4.3% to 806; Mansueto's Fast Company defied gravity with a 13.5% increase, to 229; and American Media Inc.'s Men's Fitness stayed healthy with a 4% increase to 273, while Muscle & Fitness, another AMI title, pumped up 5.1% to 495.
If you're looking for bad news, you can take your pick--as virtually every major category saw substantial, if not outright disastrous, declines. Indeed, the other 235 consumer titles tracked by PIB did not fare so well, as double-digit declines in ad pages were the norm. In order of magnitude, some of the biggest losses came at Life & Style Weekly (47.8%), Blender (42.7%), SmartMoney (37.9%), More (37.4%), The New Yorker (35.1%), Rolling Stone (33.3%), Conde Nast Portfolio (33.1%), Real Simple (32.9%), ESPN Magazine (28.6%), Gourmet (28%), Conde Nast Traveler (26.9%), People (25.5%), First for Women (25.3%), Maxim (25.3%), Bicycling (25.2%), O the Oprah Magazine (24.9%), Everyday Food (24.7%), GQ (24.5%), Newsweek (24.3%), Bon Appetit (23.9%), In Touch Weekly (23.7%), American Photo (23.7%), Entertainment Weekly (23.6%), Ladies' Home Journal (23.3%), National Geographic (21.3%), Cooking Light (23.2%), Better Homes & Gardens (21.2%), and Prevention (20.8%).
That's not to say that other titles escaped unscathed, as revealed by a quick look at some of the bigger titles not mentioned above. In alphabetic order this time, more typical losses were seen at BusinessWeek (down 19.6%), Country Living (18.5%), Details (14.2%), Domino (15.1%), Dwell (18.6%), Esquire (14.6%), Fitness (19.9%), Food & Wine (14.2%), Fortune (18%), Glamour (17.6%), Good Housekeeping (14.1%), Harper's Bazaar (13.1%), Lucky (17%), Marie Claire (17.7%), New York Magazine (15.6%), Runner's World (17.8%), Sports Illustrated (15.4%), and Time (18.4%).
You might like American Bungalow.
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Magazines_22/Grim_end_to_a_bad_year_for_magazines.asp
Grim end to a bad year for magazines
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Cable_65recap/Cable_s_catching_up_in_DVR_playback.asp
Cable’s catching up in DVR playback
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Broadcastrecap_64/Lots_less_luster_for_the_Golden_Globes.asp
Lots less luster for the Golden Globes
Y’all need to see this one.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011303106.html?sub=AR
Change Sweeping to the FCC
Obama’s Pick, a Venture Capitalist, Could Shift Commission’s Focus to Internet
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=asCgPLoBQD7g
Time Warner’s Bewkes Stuck With AOL, Ad Slump After First Year
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aejIqNWbUuZA
Leno TV Time Shift Lays Egg With Ad Buyers at Ratings Loser NBC
At the LIBRARY, I thumbed through the current issue of Time Magazine looking for ad/news balance.
In years past I couldn’t find the stories because the rag was so fully laden with ads. Last week though, it was all news.
Now ordinarily I would think they were turning over a new leaf. But based on my reads here, they are in very bad shape
Honey I done it long time ago
I remember when National geogrpahic was cool
wonderful news, Jan 14 ain’t such a bad day
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.