How to save the shrinking trade magazine

I was talking with someone today about the shrinking size of trade publications. This time the subject was Laboratory Equipment, which was 24 pages and 26 advertisers (5 full page).

So it was interesting to find an editorial in the new Circuits Assembly (pdf) acknowledging the shrinking magazine. What Mike Buetow lamented is that as ad-pages shrink, so does editorial content, only further diminishing his magazine's relevance. But this is a guy with a plan...

First, he makes a rather bold step in saying..."wouldn't (readers) be best served if we packaged each issue as if they paid for it?"

Then he creates an action plan to cram more content into his magazine by providing abbreviated content that continues online. This actually gives him the freedom to publish longer articles and provide more data. This creates room to address more of his nine key technology areas each month. He echos what I've said is the continuing job of trade publications: "Our role is to act as a filter, screening the noise from what's truly crucial."