Economist named magazine of the year

Nat Ives of Advertising Age writes Monday that The Economist has been named the publication’s magazine of the year.

Ives writes, “The sales of ad pages have mirrored those trends, according to Media Industry Newsletter. Time’s ad pages from January through August plummeted to 954, down 25.2% from the equivalent period last year. Newsweek’s ad pages sank 24.8% to 829. U.S. News fell 33.7% to 684.

“From last January through mid-August, on the other hand, the North American edition of The Economist expanded ad pages 7.2% to 1,497.

“‘Yes, it’s a weekly, but it has a different take on the news,’ says Beth Fidoten, senior VP-account director for print at mega-media agency Initiative, New York. ‘It’s much more of an international perspective, and it’s very macro.’

“It’s also riding the currents that are relentlessly pushing business and global perspectives to the forefront, Ms. Fidoten says. ‘I think it has a bit of nerd chic to it — economic nerd chic,’ she says. ‘When in the recent past have there been best-sellers like ‘Freakonomics’? The whole global scene is much more important. Look at things like Angelina Jolie being a U.N. ambassador. It really plays into trends going into the culture right now.'”