We’ve all read the headlines about the sorry state of the magazine industry, but what do people who evaluate magazines for their clients really think of the category as an ad medium? We at MEDIA thought we’d ask. Thus, for the June MEDIA Debate we gathered three media executives to tell us what they’ve seen, and most importantly, what they predict for the future of the magazine industry. The panelists are: Serge DelGrosso, senior vice president, media director, Procter & Gamble, Bcom3 Group’s Mediavest Worldwide; Gary Capreol, vice president, associate media director, Cordiant Communications Group’s Bates Worldwide; and Neil Ascher, …

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 …

For as long as there have been newspapers, tear sheets have been used to confirm to advertisers that their ads have run. It’s a laborious and costly process that involves everything from the manpower needed to physically send the tear sheets to increasing the press run just to supply them. But now there are electronic tear sheets, which send the sheets online electronically so they can be verified digitally. Based on the market penetration of electronic tear sheets, you’d think they were brand-new, but in fact the concept is a few years old. John Kimball, a senior vice president …

In the last few months, I have often mentioned MediaPost’s plans to start a new how-to magazine about traditional media, and given the current economy, my excitement about the new venture has oftentimes been met with thinly veiled pity, followed by a gentle referral to this or that well-respected psychiatrist. More often than not, however, people asked, “Is that because you think there’s no hope for online media?” That question is almost understandable, I usually said, considering what happened to most of the online media magazines in the past year, but that’s definitely not the case. We have more …

When Americans are in the mood to buy, or just browsing, they turn to daily and Sunday newspapers for the advertising information that will help them decide what to buy and where to make their purchase, according to a recently released report by the Newspaper Association of America. The 2001 National Report shows that more than eight in 10 adults regularly or occasionally use inserts, seven in 10 use ROP advertising with the same frequency. Nearly two-thirds of consumers say newspapers are their primary source for advertising and shopping information in general. The study’s findings, culled from a national …

Show quality has improved and advertisers see a growing audience with buying power and strong brand loyalty. In the ever-expanding world of cable television and direct satellite systems, you can find such niche channels as the Game Show Network, Tech TV, Speedvision, SoapNet, and of course the Weather Channel. While zapping around the dial, you can watch five different Discovery Channels, eight unique HBO channels, 19 regional versions of Fox SportsNet, and 20 channels directed at Spanish-speaking people. However, except for the barely seen Triangle Television Network in the U.S. and PrideVision in Canada, there is no major channel aimed …