By Tonie Auer
ASBPE National Blog Chairwoman and DFW Chapter President

I’ve almost burned up all of my “glass if half-full” optimism as I’ve tried to deny that a recession is looming. I’ve pointed to all the positives and tried to downplay the negatives. But, I think I have to face facts: a recession is likely on the horizon.

The folks at Folio see it coming, too, and quizzed “publishers representing different aspects of the industry, including large and small, b-to-b and consumer, and city and regional” in an online article titled Publishers Prepare for Recession.

The good news is that the responses were overwhelmingly positive. Even with the downturn in the economy, the outlook wasn’t dismal. Of course, these are the publishers that chose to respond. Odds are the magazines that will be hardest hit aren’t going to shout that from the rooftops.

Are other publishers this optimistic? What about the grunts down in the trenches? So far, my work hasn’t slowed down. Quite the opposite. I’ve gotten more jobs from different magazines than I have ever had. This might be indicative, though, that more magazines are cutting staff and looking to freelancers to offset those expenses.

How does everyone else feel about the industry in the coming year?