Sometimes data viewed in a void can be misleading. Case in point, today's report that magazine newsstand sales are off more than 12 percent. It's filled with interesting data, magazine sector by sector. What it's not filled with is any explanation.
What does it all mean? Have people quit reading? Have they suddenly begun to switch to only online? Has the population declined 12 percent?
I won't claim to know the answer, but would suggest that, as this story among many others in the past week shows, consumers have shifted their spending patterns from discretionary items -- like magazines -- to essentials. It's the economy, stupid, once again. News reports really need to put their data into context. That's a job of journalists.
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