Has the U.S. magazine ad sales decline started to bottom out?

Data from U.S. magazines suggest that the decline in advertising page sales may be levelling off; July issues of monthlies are down 20% compared with July a year ago, says an article in MediaDaily News, but it is less of a decline than recent monthly figures. Top titles have experience major year-to-date declines:

Title	July	YTD
Town & Country	(60%)	(44%)
Architectural Digest	(57%)	(50%)
Conde Nast Traveler	(53%)	(43%)
Dwell	(52%)	(44%)
Money	(47%)	(33%)
Scientific American	(47%)	(41%)
Elle Décor	(46%)	(32%)
Harper’s Bazaar	(46%)	(29%)
Prevention	(45%)	(29%)
GQ	(43%)	(33%)
W	(43%)	(44%)
O the Oprah magazine	(42%)	(31%)
Vogue	(41%)	(31%)
National Geographic	(41%)	(34%)

Overall, of 160 monthly magazines tracked by MIN Online, only 11 (or about 7%) have not posted declines for year-to-date, and 27 (17%) did not post declines in July. Ninety-one monthly titles (57%) have seen ad pages fall 20% or more for the year-to-date, with 40 (25%) experiencing declines of 30% or more.

It's hard to put a good spin on a monthly decline of 20%, but in comparison to other recent monthly figures, July is less. Total ad pages fell 26% in February, 24.5% in April, and 22% in June, so there may be reason to hope that losses are gradually evening out.