Play with this interactive barometer of ad pages inside the major magazines.
The overall picture is grim, grim, grim. Fortunately, we at The Economist are still going strong. (I wonder how we do that. ;))
But lest you hypothesize about a “flight to quality”, note that the New Yorker is also down, really down. Breaks my heart.
Hannibal and Me: life lessons from history 
With gripping stories such as those featuring Nicole’s baby girl, I can’t imagine why this is happening. Where else can you get that sort of information? Sheesh.
And how about those news stories that turn out to be editorials? The Economist tends to do this. It’s annoying. Gosh, I feel like Mr. Crotchety.
I’ve got it! That is, I have a newspaper bailout plan for the U.S. (at no additional cost to taxpayers). First, we take a part of the gazillion dollars that the National Institute of Health (NIH) would otherwise spend handing out free cigarettes to rats and create free health clinics. Each of these clinics will have a waiting room. What does every waiting room need? Magazines with pictures of Nicole’s baby and the like. NIH could contribute their version of an easy diet plan for the holidays or some tips on how to please him in the bedroom.
OMG. It’s only Monday. I might have to take the rest of the week off in anticipation of being asked to join the Obama cabinet.
You’re right, Cheri, that we have (for 160+ years) “mixed” reporting and editorial. But most of our readers consistently say that they like, or even love, this. They find it more honest. We are, as it were, a 160-year-old … blog.
I think that everyone is missing the point. The Economist’s alphabetical neighbor, Elle, has +27%. All one need’s is a Lindsay Lohan exclusive and ways to fix your skin, and the recession will be merely a blemish to be covered by mascara.
Finally, some rigorous analysis!
Welcome back, Quantum. Er, Jonathan. We’ve been missing you…
I have one more, slightly more serious question/comment. Is the Economist’s ad revenue doing better merely because circulation is growing? Is it a better place to put an ad?
Before I read the Economist regularly, I was intimidated by the employment ads. Having looked more closely, it seems that many of the jobs posted in the Economist would be not very enjoyable (i.e., suck). Does anyone ever apply for these jobs? The ads must be expensive. But, there are some vacancies that are so vague they might be fun. I would make great use of rubber stamps during the day, dress for dinner in the evening and ride a bicycle to market on the weekends.
I’m not on the business side, and “editorial” sort of stays behind its Chinese wall, but yes, circulation is growing and that has been helping. So it probably is a better place to put an ad. It reaches a more defined demographic. Nanoscientists in Boulder, I’m told.
Now that you’ve said that about the jobs posted, I have to take a closer look. I don’t think I’ve ever actually read our ads….