How to find the number of pages in back issues of magazines.

March 3, 2009 5:44 AM

Please help me find out how many pages are in back issues of several popular magazines.

I'm doing some research into shrinking magazine size and one portion of this is to try and find the number of pages in several magazines, specifically; Blender, Esquire, WIRED, Maxim and SPIN. Ideally I'd love to know the number of pages v. ads in every issue but I think that's a reach.

Do you know where I could track this information down?

Is there a certain person on a magazine staff who I should approach to try and find this?

Do you have the last 12 issues of any of these and can help me out?

Perhaps I should hire an Amazon turker...

posted by imjosh to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

I work at a library, and we have at least 2 or 3 of those. Have you tried your local branch?
posted by jenny76 at 5:58 AM on March 3, 2009

Best answer: Your profile has you in Findlay, OH. The Toledo Lucas County Public Library system appears to carry all five of these, although Maxim is not at the main library, only a couple of branches.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:11 AM on March 3, 2009

Response by poster: @Jenny76 - I have visited my local branch and they only had one of these and a few others I was looking at (and tallied).

@DevilsAdvocate - Thanks, I will have to check the larger library.
posted by imjosh at 6:26 AM on March 3, 2009

Best answer: The Magazine Publishers of America website will give you quarterly numbers of ad pages for each of those titles. Might save you having to count up the ad pages at least.
posted by otio at 11:26 AM on March 3, 2009