The PPA says they're "encouraging", IPC Media cites them as evidence that its investment in "compelling content" is "paying off", while a host of other publishers heralded yesterday's ABC magazine figures for the first half of 2010 as a victory for "quality" publishing.

And sure enough there are reasons to be cheerful. Women's lifestyle titles are up 14.6 per cent year on year, with IPC Media's Essentials posting a 12.9 per cent rise on its 2009 first-half performance.

On the news and current affairs magazine shelves, science titles are up 6.9 per cent; business & finance finds itself 5.5 per cent better off and UK news and politics manages a 2.6 per cent lift. The Economist is a healthy 4.2 per cent up in the UK year on year, to 195,000.