High Circulation

Folio Magazine reports today that magazine circulation isn’t as bad as we had thought:

“Overall consumer magazine circulation through the first half was stable, with subscription gains offsetting newsstand declines. That’s the overarching point of “The Full Story on Magazine Circulation Vitality,” a new white paper released by the Magazine Publishers of America. The report, according to the MPA, aims to set the record straight about the recent Audit Bureau of Circulations’ FAS-FAX report.

“We created the Magazine Circulation Vitality White Paper because there is a positive circulation story about the magazine industry that is being ignored,” Ellen Oppenheim, MPA’s executive vice president and CMO, told FOLIO:. “There’s obviously confusion between the impact of the recession on ad pages and the consumer’s relationship with magazines. And those assumptions are often wrong. Subscriptions are up. Magazine readership remains steady. Consumers flock to newsstands when big news breaks like the death of Michael Jackson. When you look at the big picture, the facts tell a strong story.””