Good News! Literally, we have some actual good magazine news to report. The folks at New York have informed us that the magazine has achieved a "3.4% increase in single copy (newsstand) sales for the first half of 2008." Not only that, they achieved it after raising their cover price by 20%.

The strongest performers included the Spring Fashion issue featuring Lindsay Lohan as Marilyn Monroe, Hillary Clinton, the fall of Eliot Spitzer, and the Best of New York (wait, what about the Gossip Girl cover?!). Also, paid subscribers are up. Full release and more numbers after the jump.

New York, NY, August 7, 2008 — In its Fas Fax statement, the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) will report that New York magazine achieved a 3.4% increase in single copy (newsstand) sales for the first half of 2008 over first half 2007, even with a 20% cover price increase (to an average of $4.16, with regular issues at $3.99 from $2.99 and double or perfect-bound issues at $4.99 from $3.99). Strong performers on the newsstand included issues as diverse as Spring Fashion featuring Lindsay Lohan as Marilyn Monroe, Hillary Clinton, the fall of Eliot Spitzer, and perennial favorite Best of New York.

In keeping with the magazine's circulation strategy of maintaining its 425,000 rate base while maximizing efficiency and audience demographics, the total circulation remains steady with a 0.9% increase to 433,289.

The number of paid subscribers to New York has grown significantly over the past three years — from 320,800 in the first half of 2005 to 359,588 in the first half of 2008 — a jump of over 38,000 or 12%. Introductory annual subscription rates are up by 25% — rising gradually from $15.97 in 2004 to $19.97 in 2008. The number of subscriptions sold online is up 16% through July 2008 over the same period last year.

New York has also shown continued strength on the advertising front: According to information released earlier this month by the Publishers Information Bureau, New York magazine showed a 9% gain in total advertising pages for the first half of 2008, ranking #2 among all magazines in the U.S.