New York, NY (April 11, 2005) - Total magazine rate-card-reported advertising revenue for the month of March 2005 increased +10.5% compared to March of last year, closing at $1,983,836,936, according to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB). Ad pages totaled 21,316.15, up +1.2% from last year. Year-to-date, PIB revenue closed at $4,696,268,147, an increase of +9.4% over the same period in 2004, with ad pages totaling 49,881.32, a +1.2% gain. March 2005 vs. 2004 Seven of the 12 major advertising categories experienced increases in both PIB revenue and pages over last year. In March, Media & Advertising; Food & Food Products; and Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts posted double-digit gains in PIB revenue and pages. March 2005 marks the thirteenth consecutive month of gains for the Food & Food Products and Financial, Insurance & Real Estate categories. (Twelve categories are the most significant contributors to PIB revenue, comprising more than 85% of total advertising spending.) January – March 2005 vs. 2004 Year-to-date, six of the 12 major advertising categories posted increases in PIB revenue and pages: Food & Food Products; Apparel & Accessories; Media & Advertising; Retail; Financial, Insurance & Real Estate; and Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts. Double-digit PIB revenue and page growth were recorded by the Food & Food Products; Financial, Insurance & Real Estate; and Media & Advertising categories in the first three months of 2005. “Food & Food Products has been a vibrant category for the magazine industry, not just in the first quarter, but for the past year, despite the fall-off in the low-carb phenomenon,” noted Ellen Oppenheim, Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer, Magazine Publishers of America. “Interestingly, during the first three months of 2005, a range of categories have contributed to the growth of magazine advertising. In January, the top spenders were Automotive and Direct Response companies, in February—Food and Drugs, and in March—Apparel and Retail.”