The thirst for financial counsel

The Wall Street Journal reports that Money Magazine Bets on a Redesign. There will be fewer of the mind-numbing comparison tables of mutual fund stats and "breezier, more inviting pages." The three personal finance magazines are suffering from lost advertising, as one would expect, but there's been no falloff in circulation.

Ad pages in this year's first four issues of Money were down one-quarter from a year earlier, according to trade publication MediaWeek. Over the same period, the decline was 22% at SmartMoney and 39% at Kiplinger's. Money's rate base of 1.9 million copies -- the circulation guaranteed to advertisers -- is more than twice that of SmartMoney and Kiplinger's.

The circulation of all three magazines has remained steady, a sign consumers remain hungry for their counsel.