Magazine hemorrhage begins in earnest
Behold the death of print, happening in slow motion: Visits to magazine websites were up 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. But so far this year, monthly magazine ad pages are down 4 percent. The numbers don't add up to good news: Magazines' Web revenues are considerably smaller than their print business. Even if they grow to match them in audience size, magazines will never support their extensive sales forces and extravagant editorial salaries on the Web's cutthroat cost structure. David Moore, CEO of online-ad network 24/7 Media, put it best:
The amount of money newpapers and magazines have been getting per thousand is outrageous. Newpapers and magazines are still getting roughly 30% of all advertising expenditures—yet if you look at their share of media usage, they've got between 7% and 9%. Thats why they're having so much trouble.
If you run a magazine, you should be asking yourself, "How do I cut my budget by three-quarters?"
