News magazines an endangered species in North America

In the last five years (2003-2008) 39% of newsmagazines in North America have disappeared, dropping from 75 publications to 45, according to a story in Folio: about data published in the National Directory of Magazines. As but one example, this year, U.S. News & World Report became a biweekly.)

The Directory (misnamed, since it catalogues some 20,500 U.S. and Canadian titles)says that shelter titles jumped from 82 to 241 titles, making it among the most robust categories, while the largest was for regional titles; 1,120 regional magazines were in existence in 2008.

“Regional magazines capitalize on the fascination with ‘things local’ and also benefit from strong local advertising,” according to Trish Hagood, president of Oxbridge Communications, publisher of the directory. “Many regional magazines are also pitched to an upscale audience making them doubly attractive to readers and advertisers.”