Vogue tops list of 2010 ad-page gains

Joe Pompeo
·Media Reporter

Media Industry Newsletter, a publishing trade organ, brings some good news for magazine publishers just in time for the holidays.

The industry tracker's latest data shows that 99 of the roughly 150 monthly magazines it monitors are finishing the year with more ad pages than they did in 2009, which was an abysmal 12 months for the recession-scarred publishing sector. Last December, only 10 glossies increased their ad pages.

Fashion titles are leading the pack: Vogue, which claimed the No. 1 spot on the list, gained almost 320 ad pages; Harper's Bazaar about 269; and Elle 190. Marie Claire, Chicago magazine, Real Simple, InStyle, StyleWatch and Parenting were also in the top 10.

The encouraging stats mirror the most recent Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) data, which showed that 136 magazines saw an increase in ad pages in the third quarter of 2010, versus just 25 during the same period in 2009. PIB's year-end report is due out in January.