From today’s WSJ…

Home Magazine a Victim of Housing Woes

By RUSSELL ADAMS
August 21, 2008; Page B4

The housing crisis has moved to the magazine rack.

For much of this decade, publishers could not move quickly enough to offer design and decorating advice to the mushrooming population of homeowners. Lately, though, the downturn in the real-estate market has cast doubt on reader and advertiser appetite for “shelter” publications that tell people how to spruce up their homes.

Now, grappling with the possibility that they overshot demand for home-related content, some publishers are scaling back their investments in these publications.

On Wednesday, Lagardère SCA’s Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S, publisher of Elle, Woman’s Day and Car and Driver, as well as several shelter and enthusiast titles, said it is pulling the plug on its struggling Home magazine. The closure of Home comes less than a year after the demise of Condé Nast Publications Inc.’s House & Garden magazine and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.’s Blueprint. Jack Kliger, president and chief executive officer of HFM U.S., cited sharp declines in the “mid-market home sector” for the decision to close Home, which posted a 47% decline in ad pages in the second quarter, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.

“Obviously, this is a tough time for the shelter magazine category,” said Andy Sareyan, president of Meredith Corp.’s Better Homes & Gardens, which he said was less vulnerable than competitors because of its broader focus on lifestyle. “When people do less buying and selling of homes and less remodeling, there is less need for the advertising categories that support the businesses to spend their money.”

Spending on home additions and alterations declined 5% in 2006 and an estimated 11% in 2007, according to the National Association of Home Builders. This year, the number of home magazines is expected to decline for the first time in five years, after the number of titles increased by 57% between 2002 and 2007, according to the National Directory of Magazines

But some publishers say a drop in spending on homes doesn’t necessarily reflect declining interest in home improvement, even if it has had a negative impact on advertising in some magazines. “There are many ways you can improve a house, whether it’s $15 for a can of paint or $15,000 for a new bathtub,” said Stephen Drucker, editor in chief of Hearst Corp.’s House Beautiful, which had a 19% increase in ad pages in its second quarter.

Some titles are struggling because they have continued to tailor their publications to designers and decorators who are beyond the reach of most consumers. “Consumers have changed the way they think about their homes and about decoration and design, and I’m not sure all the magazines have kept pace with that,” said Deborah Needleman, editor in chief at Condé Nast’s Domino, a shelter title geared toward younger consumers.

Domino increased circulation by 82% to 1.1 million in the first half.

Some titles have retooled their editorial mission to appeal to readers who care about their homes but have less money to spend. After remodeling contractors told them consumers were shifting more home-improvement dollars to renovations that would conserve energy and save them money, Better Homes & Gardens began devoting more of its editorial resources to tips about reducing energy and “doing more with what they already have,” said Gayle Butler, the magazine’s editor in chief.