Face-Off: The Newsweeklies Go To War

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, April 1, 2003

Lately, there's been some dissension in the ranks when it comes to newsweeklies: Critics say in times of war they suffer from ad withdrawal - or they can't compete against the immediacy of 24/7 cable TV coverage. But a look at the facts shows otherwise. While advertisers did flee in droves after 9/11 and publishers of the newsweeklies are girding for the same with the war against Iraq, the newsweekly magazine genre is alive and thriving - subs, newsstand sales, and ad pages are all up. Bad news, it turns out, is good news for the newsweeklies. From a competitive standpoint, Newsweek is gaining on Time. And having scored four National Magazine Award nominations to Time's goose egg - it just staged another coup. - Michael Learmonth

Time (Time Inc.) Ad pages 2002: 2,350.6 (-2.07) Through February '03: 290.7 ( 5.1) Total circ: 4,109,962 ( 1.9) Newsstand: 190,332 ( 32.3) Average price paid per issue: $0.87

The ad-page and revenue leader, Time boasted some impressive newsstand gains in the second half of 2002, while ad pages declined slightly. Several advertisers have already checked out of the first few wartime issues, but publisher Ed McCarrick expects them to return quickly. "I would argue that if advertisers trust us to lay out the magazine in a tasteful fashion, they will benefit," he says. "They will get more exposure, more visibility and, perhaps, more credibility." There is no special contingency for handling ad withdrawals, except trying to be sensitive to advertiser's preferences for placement. "Sometimes we can't accommodate everything they're asking for," he says. "In those cases, we say, 'perhaps you're best off waiting another issue.'" On the competition: This year, TV is a much bigger threat than any of the other news glossies, says McCarrick. "Only one TV show delivers more viewers than we do and that's 'CSI,'" he says. "I think we have a big advantage against the up-front buys."

Newsweek (Washington Post Company) Ad pages 2002: 1,979.1 ( 7.25) Through February '03: 267.2 ( 15.1) Total circ: 3,125,151 ( 5.6) Newsstand: 116,854 ( 35.8) Average price paid per issue: $0.59

Newsweek posted some hefty circ gains in 2002 and now matches Time ad page-for-ad page in some issues. But Newsweek still lags significantly in revenue per page - it brought in $180 million less than Time in ad revenue last year. And competitors are quick to note that Newsweek also discounts rather significantly on the circ front.

If war breaks out, some advertisers have asked that their ads be pulled automatically, but worldwide publisher Greg Osberg says, "This is nothing new to us." The magazine pulled life insurance and travel ads out of the issue that covered the Columbia disaster. "If it's an obvious conflict between the content of the ad and the edit, we pull the ad on our own," Osberg says. This can hurt, but the pain is somewhat soothed by circ increases, he says. On the competition: "Our strengths are breaking news and identifying emerging trends. It's become a two-horse race and we're in an excellent position in the first turn of the year." - Greg Osberg

U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News & World Report LP) Ad pages 2002: 1,415.0 ( 3.65) Through February '03: 195.3 ( 21.5) Total circ: 2,032,286 ( 2.6) Newsstand: 50,056 ( 28.5) Average price paid for issue: $0.67

U.S. News is still a distant third, but the war on terror seems to be the news story that lifts all boats. Like its two competitors, U.S. News is reporting increases in ads and circ and publisher William Holiber says long-term renewals are up 70 percent. U.S. News is the only pub to make an editorial change to cope with the advertising exodus: its "2nd Front" section, a blood-and-gore-free zone with its own cover and TOC, debuted last week. "Several advertisers have asked to be in the second section," Holiber says. "A handful don't want to be in the first few issues that cover the war." To distinguish itself, the mag continues to focus on "America's Best" issues ranking colleges, hospitals and mutual funds. On the competition: "[Time and Newsweek] are focussed on trying to write about what's being talked about on cable news. We start at a higher level with less fluff and focus on what's the next step after that." - William Holiber

Sources: Ad page counts from Publishers Information Bureau. Circulation data from Audit Bureau of Circulations for the first six months of 2002.