Will the forecasters do any better this year predicting the future of print media?

After a phenomenally bad year for the publishing business, we'd like to think better times are ahead for our beloved newspapers and magazines. But the industry's esteemed prognosticators couldn't have been more wrong up until now. Last year, PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted that consumer magazines would end this year 4.5 percent up. This year, PwC revised that to a decline of 13.5 percent. ZenithOptimedia wasn't exactly on the money, either: Last year, it said the industry would grow 5.5 percent. This year, it lowered that to a decline of 10 percent and then 18 percent. Next year they're calling for better times. But to be fair, forecasting the media business these days is as futile as predicting the weather, and few did that better than the late George Carlin ("Weather forecast for tonight: dark"). Keep it simple, guys.

—Posted by Lucia Moses