Among all the changes magazine media faces—consolidation, layoffs, digital—the one consistent trend is the decline of print advertising. Moody’s estimates that print ads will continue to fall 10% through mid-2018, providing little hope for a turnaround in the traditional revenue stream that media companies used to rely on. But, it’s also true that some companies, like New York Media and Atlantic Media, have long looked past the traditional advertising spigot, to find more reliable resources of growth. This has created some innovative strategies, where organizations have sought to use their knowledge and prestige to test new revenue streams. We take a look at three different initiatives that may not replace the advertising losses, but provide a new way of viewing the potential still inherent within media brands. Click Read More below for more of the story.

On April 29, in response to an April 1 request for summary judgment by Florida attorney general James Uthmeier and his legal team, the plaintiffs in Penguin Random House LLC v. Gibson urged Florida district court judge Carlos E. Mendoza to make his determination in a case targeting the improper removal of books from public school classrooms and libraries. Critics argue that the law violates the First Amendment, fails to acknowledge the expertise of librarians and educators who select books and materials, and enables unconstitutional prohibitions on school materials that are alleged to be “pornographic” or “harmful to minors.” A decision has the potential to resound in Idaho and Iowa, where books have been removed pending review and librarians have been threatened with punishment for providing materials censors find objectionable.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $15.76 billion for the retail month of January, the four weeks ended January 30, 2022, an increase of 15.5 percent from $13.64 billion last year. Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year occurred on February 1, 11 days earlier this year. The shift favorably impacted January’s Other International and Total Company sales by approximately 4% and 0.5%, respectively. For the twenty-two weeks ended January 30, 2022, the Company reported net sales of $92.10 billion, an increase of 16.4 percent from $79.11 billion last year.