• by June 21, 2002

This month at MEDIA, we chose to take a panoramic view of the winners and losers in the magazine industry, according to 2001 figures from the Publishers Information Bureau. The data below ranks the best and worst by the percentage of revenue and pages either gained or lost.

Yes, there have been winners lately, demonstrating that good media ideas can still find an audience under any circumstance. While there have been successful launches in the past two years — Condé Nast’s Lucky and Hearst’s O — The Oprah Magazine among them — it’s almost as impressive when older books with no particular newsworthiness show improvement in a very off economy. Viacom’s Nick Jr., a parenting magazine that spins off the children’s cable channel; AOL Time Warner’s SI for Women; and American Media’s Country Weekly, covering the country music scene, all demonstrated double-digit revenue gains in 2001.

But the numbers detailing the losses of the losers are sobering. While most of the worst performers were technology and business books, the ability to fail — badly — was widespread. Forbes, Gruner + Jahr’s Fast Company, and McGraw-Hill Cos.’ Business Week all made the top (or bottom) 10 in page losses, but so did NFL Insider, World Publications’ Garden Design, and Rx Remedy. On the revenue side, AOL Time Warner’s Outdoor Life was among the biggest decliners, showing a 31.2% loss of revenue.

Are there any safe havens out there? Yes. There seems to be no end to young men’s appetites for … women, yes … but magazines that fit their female-craving lifestyle as well. Details, which has gone through as many redesigns as Cher has makeovers, showed a more than 50% gain in ad pages between 2000 and 2001. Meanwhile Primedia’s FHM and Dennis Publishing’s Stuff, both of which boosted frequency during 2001, were rewarded for their aggressive strategies, gaining substantial revenue.

In case you’re wondering whether these last two are benefiting, statistically speaking, from the fact that they didn’t publish on a monthly basis in 2000, think again. Comparing those books’ March 2001 revenue to their March 2002 figures shows how robust their growth really is. FHM gained in revenue by more than 120%, from $2.5 million to $5.5 million, while Stuff showed a 47.4% gain.

Another March winner? Bob Guccione Jr.’s similarly targeted Gear, which posted a 45.2% revenue gain.