August 19, 2008 1:49PM

The Magazine Industry: Turning a New Page

By Alexis Glick

I have been meaning to do this story for weeks now…

What is the state of the magazine industry? Are magazine publishers experiencing the same casualties that the newspaper industry is facing, or is it simply a case of the haves and have nots? Look at how much People magazine was willing to pay for the pictures to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s twins! Was that investment worth it?

This morning on Money for Breakfast, we dove into this discussion with some great guests: Dr. Samir “Mr. Magazine” Husni, an authority in the sector and department chair at Ole Miss; Matt Kinsman, Managing Editor of Folio magazine; and Dave Kansas, President of FiLife.com.

Mr. Husni had some aggressive suggestions for the industry, including that newsstand prices be slashed by as much as 50%. He says subscriptions to magazines should not be less than 20-30% of the cover price… and he has a point! Some magazines charge 10% of the cost of the magazine on the newsstand through subscriptions. Is there something wrong with that model? How about the Internet? Is it hurting the business or helping the business? What does the future look like?

Take a look.