The ad economy is expected to improve in 2010, if modestly, as consumers begin spending again and marketers ramp up their advertising to reach them.

The question, as in all recoveries, is who will be

lifted with the rising tide in spending?

Magazines most likely will not be, and in fact 2010 could be a worse year than 2009 in some ways. More titles will fold, and probably bigger titles. Others will cut back circulation and frequencies while raising newsstand and subscription prices in an attempt to reduce losses, but the losses will continue.

We will see more efforts to shift into digital publishing by means of mobile apps and the like, and publishers will step up belated efforts to expand onto the internet, but whatever successes they see will fall well short of making up for their losses on their print publications.

Some magazines will defy the trend. The traditional women's service titles have done surprisingly well through this ad recession. But the exceptions will be few.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Magazines_22/Outlook_fo...