The black magic of magazine audience inflation

“Yet another editor friend says that at one national publication he worked at, the general executive-level understanding was that only about a third of the magazine’s ratebase was truly legit (i.e., actual people who really wanted the magazine). Much of the rest of the lofty ratebase was comprised of ‘readers’ gained through a shady circ-pumping operation that charged a bounty of a few bucks per head. Did those faux subs come from mysteriously billed old ladies in Florida? Trailer-park residents in Iowa? It was never quite clear.”

So I’ll ask again — given the passion with which bloggers are read, why would anyone advertise anywhere else?