Ad pages declined 33.06% in March compared with March 2008, according to BIN. In February pages fell 31.54% after dropping 26.95% in January. For the first quarter, pages plunged 29.70%.

An examination of the BIN numbers since 2001 seems to support the interpretation that print ad pages are most affected by economic conditions. The number of ad pages declined sharply during economic slumps: Pages were down 19.69% in 2001 and 15.00% in 2002.

Newspapers have also shown a similar pattern. During the recession of 2001, newspaper advertising revenue declined 9.0% but showed modest growth and contraction between 2002 and 2006. Impacted heavily by a decline in classified advertising, which has significantly less effect on b-to-b and consumer magazines, newspaper ad revenue showed steep drops in 2007 (-9.4%), 2008 (-17.7%) and in the first quarter of this year (-29.70%).