Predicting how the election will turn out based on reading habits is about as reliable as “shaking the Magic 8 Ball,” says Corey Pein in the current issue of Folio magazine. Still it’s fun to speculate.
“Looking at the upcoming election through the limited lens of the magazine business, the race looks good for the Democrats,” writes Pein. “Since 2001, subscriptions to three important anti-Bush magazines are up an average of 26 percent in the swing states, whereas subscriptions have stagnated among comparable pro-Bush magazines.”
In the article, Pein examines the reading habits of six magazines, which have left-right readership and little overlap in subscribers: The Nation and The National Review, The New Yorker and American Hunter, Forbes and Vanity Fair. “Plus one incredibly influential publication that, for now, remains on the fence — O Magazine.” The 12 swing states chosen were “Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin) all went for Gore/Nader or Bush/Buchanan in 2000 by a margin of less than 5 percent.”
If you believe you are what you read, perhaps predicting that outcome of an election based on such an analysis makes good sense. It will be interesting to see the results. It beats tea leaves, I suppose.
