It May Not Be Just House & Garden In Trouble

The Wall Street Journal today backs up our contention from Monday that the slumping national housing market may have helped doom House & Garden magazine. But, as the Journal notes, that Conde Nast title may not be the only home-related magazine in trouble because of the slump:

Media buyers say the industry is overrun with so-called shelter magazines, industry parlance that includes titles focusing on home design. Along with Condé Nast's own Architectural Digest, shelter magazines include House Beautiful, Dwell, Traditional Home, Metropolitan Home, Midwest Living and Home magazine.

Six new magazines focusing on homes started up in the first quarter of 2007, according to New York-based trade group Magazine Publishers of America. ...

The glut of decorating magazines comes as the U.S. housing market faces a crisis. "It's a magazine category that will be hit by the housing issues," says Jen Neal, managing partner of Phd, a media buying unit of Omnicom Group.