The latest news about how the novel coronavirus is affecting the publishing industry.

How Coronavirus Is Affecting Glossy Ads

Most glossy magazine publishers had finished their May issues by the time governors started issuing stay-at-home orders. This means that the pandemic's impact on the publishing industry will play out throughout the rest of the year. "Advertising experts expect the first signs to start to appear in the June issues and by September, the most important month of the year for magazines, the decline will be clearly visible, especially for those that depend on luxury brand advertising. Independent magazines will likely feel the pain more quickly," says Kathryn Hopkins in a recent Women's Wear Daily article.

Because magazine issues wrap so far ahead of their release dates, readers -- particularly those of fashion, food, and travel titles -- will be delivered content that doesn't reflect social distancing laws and norms. This is sure to affect advertiser ROI in the coming months. Read more .

Publishers Rethinking Ad Sales Teams

Publishers are retraining their sales teams to adapt to the Covid-19 landscape. Lucinda Southern of Digiday.com writes, "The ongoing quest for publishers to strike cross-channel, longer-term and more consultative partnerships with advertisers has gathered steam over the last four years for good reason.... As with most trends, coronavirus and the resulting economic downturn has lit a fire under the need for closer advertiser relationships." Sales teams now tend to center on cross-channel partnerships and technical proficiency, among other things, she says. Read the full article here.

Barnes & Noble to Stop Selling New Magazines

Michael Kozlowski of Goodereader.com reports this week that Barnes and Noble will stop ordering and selling new magazines. An industry veteran tells him that the change will likely hurt smaller publishers more than larger ones that tend to rely on Target and Walmart for retail revenue. Read more here.

Payments for Publishers Delayed

The coronavirus has worsened a longstanding problem in the publishing industry: payment schedules. Publishers were already struggling with payment terms that stretched as long as net-60, but now, according to Max Willens of Digiday.com, those payment schedules have widened even further: "Through the first three weeks of April 2020, payment delays on invoices to publishers and media agencies have increased 20%, according to data collected by FastPay.... Separate research conducted by Oarex ... found that the number of firms that paid their invoices late rose 14.6%, to 55%, in the first quarter." Even worse, Willen says, the problem is likely to magnify in the coming weeks and months, creating further cash flow nightmares for many publishers. Read more here.

Magazine Print Revenue Up

The news for magazine publishers during the pandemic isn't all bad. Keith J. Kelly of the New York Post reported this month that newsstand sales were up last month thanks to Covid-19 panic buying. Sales slowed as March drew to a close, but the surge earlier in the month helped offset the slowdown. But tougher time may be ahead, Kelly warns: "Monthly magazines had already sold the ads for the May issues prior to the pandemic, so the slowdown is expected to start showing in the June issues. Some advertisers have pulled back completely, while others are trying to recalibrate their messages." Read more here.

Cuts at Meredith

Meredith is making big changes due to the current advertising slump. Alex Sherman of CNBC reports that the magazine publishing giant is cutting pay for 60 percent of its staffers until September and "instituting a hiring and wage freeze and a 'significant' reduction in using freelance writers for its magazines.... [I]t is withdrawing its fiscal 2020 performance expectations last communicated in February and is suspending its dividend." Read more here.

Media Professionals Who Have Died of Covid-19

Poynter has compiled a list of media professionals who have died of coronavirus and has been updating it as things develop. The list includes prominent journalists and photojournalists from all over the world. Read it here.

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