New York, NY (February 18, 2003) — Total magazine advertising revenue for the month of January 2003 increased 9.5%, compared to January of last year, closing at $883,466,028, according to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB). Ad pages for January totaled 12,482.6, up 4.8% from 2002. January 2003 vs. 2002 Eleven of the twelve major advertising categories experienced an increase in advertising revenue over January 2002. Notable gains were seen in Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts, Apparel & Accessories, Toiletries & Cosmetics and Automotive. Ten of the twelve major categories saw an increase in ad pages, with considerable increases in Apparel & Accessories and Automotive. (Twelve categories are the most significant contributors to PIB revenue, comprising more than 85% of total advertising spending.) "Given the uncertainty in the economic and political environments, we are pleased to see that 2003 is starting on a strong note," said Ellen Oppenheim, Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer, Magazine Publishers of America. Please note that, effective with the January 2003 reporting, PIB has implemented a reporting change based on users' requests. We are moving away from reporting the same set of titles common to two reporting periods to reporting all titles in those two periods. The new format reflects a "snapshot" of the pool of pages and dollars available at two distinct points in time. While the previous method identified real growth among a constant number of titles, it also excluded titles that close down and failed to recognize new launches. Magazine Publishers of America is the industry association for the consumer magazine business.  Established in 1919, the MPA represents more than 240 domestic publishing companies with approximately 1,400 titles, more than 80 international companies and more than 100 associate service providers.  Staffed by magazine industry specialists, the MPA is headquartered in New York City, with an office of government affairs based in Washington, D.C. ------ Free WTT Analysis: Below is a quick take on this news from Dr. Joe Webb. Premium Access Members can view more analysis in his weekly column on Friday, appropriately called “Fridays with Dr. Joe”. “The Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) released an optimistic report yesterday that magazine ad revenues for January 2003 were up 9.5% compared to January 2002. (Data compiled for the publications tracked by PIB.) PIB acknowledges that you have to be careful when using their data because their base of respondents can change from year to year. But when you look at the data over a 20 year period, it shows a trend that peaked in 2000 and then dropped significantly to levels around 1997. Sure, this was part of the dot-com bubble on the way up and the residue of the burst for the way down. If advertising is really starting to turn around, that would be great news. Let's hope.” * On Friday, see more from Dr. Joe on this and other topics.