2005 PUBLICATION PRINTING Outlook -- Readers Paying the Price

LIFE's reintroduction is a high-profile example of this trend, along with the likes of Hachette Filipacchi Media's For Me magazine, the journalism professor argues. The latter runs with 64 pages and is still able to make money, he points out.

Husni traces this trend back to the impact of German publisher H. Bauer Publishing (Bauer Publishing USA) with its titles like In Touch Weekly and Life & Style. Bauer had been flying under the radar for years while developing a publishing business that didn't depend on advertising as a revenue source, he says. The crux of this business model involves rediscovering the broader concept of circulation, rather than just subscriptions, and finding ways to make money from it.