Crain's New York reports that ad pages for monthly magazines plummeted in March by 26%, according to Media Industry Newsletter.
"I doubt if the Great Depression was as bad," said Steven Cohn, editor in chief of MIN, who has been covering the magazine industry for 22 years.
For the first quarter, the total number of pages came to 26,167, a 22% drop from the same period a year ago.
"Until we see indicators of people going back to stores and restaurants being crowded, this is going to continue," Mr. Cohn said. "People have to start spending money for this to change."
The worst hit publications were Blender (down 63%) and Vibe (down 64%). Muscle magazines seemed to buck the trend. Ad pages were up 33% at Flex and 25% at Muscle & Fitness.
