The fat fall fashion magazine returns

Jeremy Hobson: Magazine advertising took a big hit during the recession. But it looks like things have turned around.

As Marketplace’s Stacey Vanek Smitth reports, the door-stopper fall fashion magazine is back.

Stacey Vanek Smith: Ad sales are up for the all-important September issue of many fashion magazines. Vogue will have 584 ad pages this fall — 50 more pages than last year. Cosmo and Marie Claire will be a lot thicker as well.

Ken Doctor: We’re seeing a turnaround in parts of the industry.

Ken Doctor is a media industry analyst for Outsell. He says it’s not because of discounting. As consumer spending rebounds, clothing and cosmetic companies are flocking back to magazines, because they have a unique appeal that online media can’t match.

Doctor: It is the old-fashioned leafing through, the pleasure of the magazine, the glossy color of the magazine. It is that kind of medium that delivers attractive advertising about attractive products.

Still, Doctor points out things are bleak in much of the industry. At newspapers and newsweeklies, like Time and Newsweek, ad revenue continues to drop.

In New York, I’m Stacey Vanek Smith for Marketplace.