Well, does Disney like magazines or not?

Is the House of Mickey finally paying attention to its magazine business? You'd think being part of the Walt Disney Co., with its vast promotional opportunities, would give Disney FamilyFun a big leg-up. Yet, as the sole survivor of a shrinking magazine unit, it risks getting lost in Disney's sprawling empire. And since Disney sold its retail stores to The Children's Place in 2004, the title has gone missing from the chain. That's expected to change in 2010, however, now that Disney has bought back the stores. In a step in that direction, FamilyFun—which added "Disney" to its title earlier this year to capitalize on the famous name—is selling its first newsstand special in the top 69 Disney stores. The $9.99 Halloween special, sponsored solely by the "Got milk?" campaign, will also be distributed in Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart and elsewhere. The retail presence could help FamilyFun grow its single-copy sales, which account for less than 1 percent of its total circ. Still, FamilyFun hasn't done too badly on its own: It was one of the fastest-growing magazines in the first half of this year, with its total paid and verified circ increasing by 17.4 percent to 2.15 million.

—Posted by Lucia Moses