5 posts and columns on Magazine Publishers of America

News Byte

Magazine Publishers Turn Back From the Abyss

in Media on October 11, 2010 at 2:02 pm PT

Magazine publishers took a particularly brutal beating during the last ad recession, so they have a very long way to go if they’re going to climb back. Still, this is a start: Ad pages increased 3.6 percent in the last three months, and that’s the second consecutive quarter of growth, according to the industry trade group that used to call itself the Magazine Publishers of America. Worth noting that Condé Nast’s Wired, which may have the most successful iPad magazine app, saw ad pages jump 32.8 percent.

Why Portfolio’s Peers Shouldn’t Be Celebrating

in Media on April 28, 2009 at 9:17 am PT

While the chattering classes continue to pick over Portfolio’s bones, it’s worth checking in on the business titles Condé Nast was targeting with its ill-fated magazine. In short: None of them are suffering from a Portfolio-like swoon, but they’re all in lousy shape. And while we’re at it, let’s dispense with the story that Condé Nast burned $100 million or more on this one.
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A Miserable Three Months for the Magazine Business: Sales Down 20 Percent (At Least)

in Media on April 15, 2009 at 10:16 am PT

If you talked to any remotely candid publisher about magazine performance during the first three months of this year, the response would be a glower and an epithet. Here’s what that translates to in numbers: Ad revenue was down 20.2 percent, and ad pages were down 25.9 percent. But that probably understates how bad it was.
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Time Inc.’s Ann Moore Makes the Case for Magazines–And Is Glad She’s Not in Newspapers

in Media on January 30, 2009 at 7:17 am PT

The Time Inc. CEO gets a lifetime achievement award from an industry trade group and uses it as a platform to argue for her medium’s longevity. I hope she’s right, but I worry that she’s not.

The (Dubious) Bull Case for Magazines

in Media on January 26, 2009 at 7:13 am PT

Want a break from gloom and doom about the state of the magazine industry? The industry’s trade association is happy to help. Or at least, to try to help, with some sort-of-true but not-that-relevant happy talk.