data reduction: gains and losses in magazine circulation, 2008-2009

Vanity Fair makes the case that liberal magazines such as The Nation and Mother Jones have taken a major hit, "now that they don't have W to kick around anymore." In contrast, conservative standard bearers, such as The National Review and The Weekly Standard, have prospered since Barack Obama's election. I graphed the 2008-2009 gains and losses reported in Matt Pressman's story below:

When I ran image searches on "Obama cover," I was a little surprised to see so many mean-spirited caricatures coming from the left as well as the right. As I recall (and I could certainly be mistaken), it seemed to take a few years before the really nasty Bush II and Clinton caricatures started appearing on newsstands. In any case, Vanity Fair interprets the circulation changes as indicating that "hate sells," though I'd need more evidence to support that conclusion and rule out alternative explanations.